‘To be, or not to be, that is the question’

Play: HAMLET (Act 3 Scene 1)

HELLO!
01 What is a Soliloquy?
A speech in a play that the character speaks to himself or
herself or to the people watching rather than to the other
characters.
Soliloquy in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
• In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the tragic hero reveals his inner conflicts and
introspective attitude in each of the lengthy soliloquies.
• Each soliloquy develops further into Hamlet’s motivations, or lack of confidence and proof.
• "To be, or not to be, that is the question.“
• Soliloquy appears in Act 3, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet
• Hamlet's soliloquy serves the purpose of informing the audience of his intense negative
feelings toward his mother's remarriage and highlighting the inner turmoil those feelings
create within him.
“To Be or Not to Be”
• The first line and the most famous of the soliloquy
raises the overarching question of the speech: "To
be, or not to be," that is, "To live, or to die."
• Hamlet initially argues that death would indeed be
preferable
• He quickly changes his tune when he considers that
nobody knows for sure what happens after death
Context of “To Be or Not To
Be” in Hamlet
● Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest drama. It is still considered a
pioneer in English literature.
● Hamlet is abroad when his father, the king, dies.
● Hamlet becomes even more upset by the fact that his mother
has married his uncle
● Hamlet suspects foul play.
● The ghost of Hamlet's father tells Prince Hamlet that he was
murdered by his own brother
● Hamlet toys with many options to escape his unhappy
situation, including suicide.
Hamlet’s Character
● Hamlet’s mind is speculative, questioning and confused.
● Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King
Hamlet.
● Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred
for his uncle’s scheming and disgust for his mother’s
sexuality.
● Hamlet is often indecisive and hesitant, but at other
times prone to rash and impulsive acts.
Themes in “To Be or Not to
Be”
Doubt and Uncertainty
• Hamlet has struggled to decide whether he should kill Claudius and avenge his
father’s death
• Hamlet is struck by indecisiveness, leading him to straddle the line between action
and inaction

Life and Death

• “To be or not to be" revolves around complex notions of life and death.
• Hamlet fears the uncertainty dying brings and is tormented by the possibility of
ending up in Hell
 Literary Devices in “To Be or Not to Be”
Metaphor Metonymy

One of the first metaphors is in Shakespeare uses the notion of

the line "to take arms against a sleep as a substitute for death
sea of troubles,“. "The when Hamlet says, "To die, to
undiscover'd country from sleep.”
whose bourn / No traveller
returns." Repetition
The phrase "to die, to sleep" is
an example of repetition, as it
appears once in line 5 and once
in line 9
 Shakespeare and Soliloquies
Popular
Most famous Shakespeare Most Famous Plays
soliloquies are found in a
handful of his plays
Theme
• A Midnight Summer’s
• Life and Death Dream
• Existential crisis • Macbeth
• The Merchant of Venice
Key Features • Fraility of Human
• King Lear
Thoughts
• Revelation of
hero’s feelings
• Reflection
• Informative
 Features of Hamlet Soliloquy
Psychology
Crisis
There are 11 Show the mental state of
Soliloquies in the characters The character is in a state
of spiritual and existential
Hamlet Deep understanding of
human nature crisis

Tension
Simplification of
Need for revenge and
moral frustration
Complex Characters
Other Major Soliloquies of Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Act 1 Scene 2 Act 1 Scene 5 Act 2 Scene 2

O that this too too solid flesh O all you host of heaven! O Ay, so, God b' wi' ye!
would melt, earth! what else? Now I am alone.
Thaw, and resolve itself into a And shall I couple hell? O, fie! O, what a rogue and peasant
dew! — Hold, my heart slave am I!

Act 3 Scene 2 Act 3 Scene 3 Act 4 Scene 4

Tis now the very witching time Now might I do it pat now he is How all occasions do inform
of night, praying, against me
When churchyards yawn, and And now I'll do it, and so he And spur my dull revenge
hell itself breathes out goes to heaven
 “To Be or Not to Be” Soliloquy Analysis

• Dilemma between life and death

• Desiring relief from life’s suffering but not resolved to die
• Use of anaphora to emphasize the equation between death and
sleep
• Leaves existential open-ended questions for audience to wonder
• The theme of life or death extends to his potential actions
• The element of ‘play within a play’ highlighted
To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

- William Shakespeare
 References
• Shurma, S., 2016. A cognitive poetic analysis of LIFE and DEATH in English and Ukrainian: a multiple-parallel-text approach to
Hamlet's soliloquy.
• Zhao, X., 2022. A New Interpretation of the ‘To Be or Not to Be’Soliloquy in Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Pacific
International Journal, 5(4), pp.64-70.
• Khadka, D., 2019. Soliloquies in Shakespeare's Hamlet (Doctoral dissertation, Department of English Education).
• Hirsh, J. and Gilbert, A.J., 2006. Shakespeare and the History of Soliloquies. Early Theatre, 9(1), pp.142-145.
• Archer, D. and Gillings, M., 2020. Depictions of deception: A corpus-based analysis of five Shakespearean characters. Language
and Literature, 29(3), pp.246-274.