Read Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy.

Translate the soliloquy line by line (IE Put everything that

Hamlet says into your own words). THEN write AT LEAST 4 sentences analyzing Hamlet as a
character based on that soliloquy.

The original text is provided in this document. You may either write your own translation under
the soliloquy or put your translated line under the original text. REMEMBER: What Hamlet is
saying makes sense. Thus, your translation also needs to make clear sense. ALSO: This assignment
should be done IN YOUR OWN WORDS and no one elses.

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

To exist or not to exist, that is the great question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
Whether it is more noble of mind to live
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
A “hard” life of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
Or to rise up against a great number of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,
And by doing so end them. To die—to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
No longer; and by a “sleep” we die, ending
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
The terrible heartaches and hardships
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
That sentience gives rise to: it’s a finale
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
Wished for so heavily. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
In sleep, you happen to dream—yes, that’s the thought:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
What dreams may we witness in the sleep of death,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Once we have freed ourselves of this mortal coil,
Must give us pause—there's the respect
We must pause—and earn the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
That makes madness of such long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
For who would wield the weapons and scars of time,
Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The oppressor’s wrongdoings, the proud man’s sin,
The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay,
The pain of unrequited love, the trudging of the judiciary,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
The disrespectfulness of political office, and the rejections
That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,
Rewarded to the patience of the unworthy,
When he himself might his quietus make
When he might take his own life
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
With but a needle? What stories would tell,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
The hustle and bustle of a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
Unless they tell the dread of what comes after,
The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn
The undiscovered country from which
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
None who enter ever return, it puzzles the mind,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
And make us rather speak of those sins we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Rather than visit those of others we know nothing of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
In that, conscience makes us all cowards,
And thus the native hue of resolution
And as a result the true color of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
Is sullied over with the paleness of the thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
And covers a great movement of tone
With this regard their currents turn awry
And with this in mind their thoughts turn away
And lose the name of action.
And become too cowardly to act.

Based on my analysis of the soliloquy, Hamlet seems to me to be an extremely intelligent, yet

equally pessimistic. Hamlet presents valid and intriguing points, such as what comes after death,
but rather than treat it as a “final journey” for the goodly soul, he instead focuses on himself
and how much he despises being alive. It’s very hard to extract the substance of his thoughts
when they are so intertwined with his pessimistic, self-depreciating worldview. Overall, Hamlet
is too selfish and pessimistic to truly see the value and worthiness of life, instead dwelling on the
supposed futility of life and the inescapability of death.