Throughout the poem Hamlet, the multiple façades of man
are used promote truth and honesty, more
so, uncover a mystery (Hamlet's true feelings). Why Hamlet's feelings remain
enclosed within his intelligent mind is for the revenge of his father...but it
is more than this. After his father's murder, can he trust anyone? Act III, scene i, builds upon this motif of trust and the
dismissal from society to remain true to himself and his father. It is also to
find himself, and be in the
"Dragon" and discover his purpose in life- should he live to seek his
father's revenge or should he live to die and possibly be in a place of hell
after death? Hence, the "To be or not to be" (line 62) speech shows
the self questioning he must go through in order to answer a simple, yet
complex question. Thus, the speech exhibits shaper like qualities from Grendel-
what is the meaning of life? Now from the soliloquy, as he his questioning his
duty in life, he wonders whether or not there is a point to living- should he
commit suicide. Going back into the texts, this relates to Hamlet's words when
he says" That this too solid flesh would melt/ That, and resolve itself
into a dew/ Or that the everlasting had not fix'd/ His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!
O God." What he is saying here is that death forcefully or suicide is
against God's wishes and destroying God's gift is a sin. Notice that he view's
God above him, and hence his decisions are based on pleasing this higher being,
avoid any troubles that he must face from the curses of this higher being- God.
Now, the soliloquy also faces such dilemma of death, contemplating "to be
or not to be" aka do I live or not? Is it my duty (again the motif of duty
arises!) to carry this burden of revenge? What I question through this is the noun "that we
know not of". Who is Hamlet referring
to when he says that man flies to whom he does not know? This could go either
way- fly to heaven with the Gods, or Hell with the demons...but either way, man
tries to escape the reality. To me, this whole soliloquy is based on the fact that he must, as a son, take revenge. Therefore, he states that "Than fly
to others that we know not of?/ Thus conscience does make cowards of us
all." This pretty much states that what defines men is our ability to just
leave a situation without trying to resolve a conflict or perform the duty that
is bided with the conflict. Nonetheless, because all men do such a thing, they
are all "cowards." Just the mere thought we must escape from this
life (take the easy route) makes man a whimp. The tone of his soliloquy is
powerful yet frightened as seen at the end when he says "Be all my sins
remember'd." At first he debates the need to take such revenge, and now he says that he has committed sins in the
pat, therefore to avoid that (the fear or evil and hell) he will do such thing.
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