Introduction:
To be or not to be. That is the real question. Is it better to live or to die? This is one of the best-known lines of William Shakespeare in his play Hamlet. Probably one of the best-known lines in all drama and literature.
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;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
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 pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.--Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.
*copied from phrases.org.uk*
Hamlet is comparing life to death. He's comparing the pain of life to the fear and uncertainty to death. Life is hard and death seems to be the answer to some people. But nobody actually wants to die. People fear death because that's the end of their life and there's no coming back. Once you're dead, you're dead. Your heart has stopped beating and your body has shut down. Then your soul is either going to heaven or hell. Simple as that. Hamlet sees life as inevitable (the sea of troubles - the slings and arrows - the heart-ache - the thousand natural shocks) and death as possible damnation of suicide.
Hamlet is wondering if death is the answer for him for although he's not happy with his life, he has the fear of what death will bring him. He has no clue whether or not his soul will go to heaven or hell. He's wondering if death will be an experience worse than life. As in his soul will go down to the fiery pits of hell. There's no coming back from death. He knows that suicide is a one-way ticket. He fears that death will be much worse than life.
"Life is bad, but death might be worse."
My thoughts:
Here's the thing. Hamlet shouldn't commit suicide. Simple as that. Yes, life may get you down every once in a while and yes, you may be unhappy with your life. But that doesn't mean you have to end your life. Like I've said before, death is permanent. There's no coming back from being dead. Either you're dead or you're alive. Hamlet is an idiot to think of such a thing. If you commit suicide, you go to hell. That's killing yourself, basically like murdering yourself. Murderers don't deserve to go to heaven. Sorry to be so straight forward but it's the truth.
Now I probably have this all wrong and I interpreted this all wrong but this is what I got out of it.
Final Conclusion:
Hamlet should not commit suicide for if he does, his soul will go down to the fiery pits of hell and there is no turning back. Committing suicide is NOT the answer for we are put on this earth for a reason and God has a purpose for all of us. We may not know right away our purpose, but we will figure it out eventually. Our lives matter. We all have a purpose.
To be or not to be. That is the real question. Is it better to live or to die?
By: Jocelyn Nicole Green
