Suicide Soliloquy in Hamlet Essay - 1210 Words

William Shakespeare is a famous English playwright. His play Hamlet centers around Hamlets decision on how to seek revenge for his father’s death. However, Hamlet is unsure of what course of action he wants to take to exact his revenge. He discusses the idea of suicide as a possible option in his â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy. In this soliloquy, Shakespeare uses metaphors, rhetorical questions, and repetition to express Hamlet’s indecision regarding what he should do. Shakespeare uses metaphors to express Hamlet’s view of life, death, and the afterlife. Hamlet first introduces the idea of suicide as a way to end the sufferings of life: â€Å"and by a sleep to say we end/ The heartache and the thousand natural shocks/ That flesh is heir to†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦Shakespeare also incorporates religious undertones in this soliloquy because of the metaphor of the afterlife and the dreams that may come. Hamlet eventually comes to a decision to not take his life because he is afraid of the unknown: â€Å"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,/ And thus the native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,/ And enterprises of great pitch and moment/ With this regard their currents turn awry/ And lose the name of action† (III. i. 91-96). With his decision, Shakespeare is expressing the conscience as the logical part of Hamlet that is afraid because he does not know what would come with death. The metaphor in lines ninety-two and ninety-three is referring to the instinctual action of suicide overpowered by fears. Shakespeare is saying that even though sleep may bring Hamlet peace, he is too afraid of the dreams that may come to go through with the thought of taking his own life. The metaphors that Shakespeare uses creates a euphonious, artistic representation of Hamlet’s indecision toward the course of action he should take. In this soliloquy, Hamlet asks many rhetorical questions. He begins the soliloquy with a question: â€Å"To be or not to be-- that is the question† (III. i. 64). In these few words, Shakespeare has introduced a very powerful motif: suicide.Show MoreRelatedHamlet, By William Shakespeare996 Words   |  4 PagesHamlet, written by William Shakespeare, with out a doubt holds the most famous soliloquy in English history spoken by Hamlet in Act III, scene i, lines 57-90. This soliloquy holds much importance to the play as a whole because it ties together the reoccurring themes of suicide and Hamlet’s inaction portrayed by Shakespeare. Hamlet poses a problem, which is the driving force of the play: â€Å"To be or not to be?†(III.i.57). 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