To Be or Not to Be - Hamlets Answer Essay example -- Shakespeare Haml

To Be or Not to Be - Hamlets AnswerAs Hamlet approaches a waiting Ophelia, he begins one of the most famous soliloquies in any of literature with the immortal line To be or not to be?that is the question (III. i. 64). Yet this obvious reference to suicide only scratches the surface of the heart-rendering fighting felt by the young Dane. Hamlets impetuous desire to take his testify life is only an impassioned reaction to the heavy burden of strike back that his fathers murder has placed upon him. His greater struggle, and the focus of Hamlet itself, involves the questioning of the design and meaning of a life well-lived. The character of Hamlet pursues this knowledge by means of his manipulation of reality, his search for the endurance necessary to fulfill his quest, and his eventual credence of his true responsibility. Soon after the death of his father, Hamlet discovers the deceptive disposition of bearings. When the queen questions why he is so distracted by the appearan ce of those mourning, he replies by describing the facades of others These indeed ?seem,? For they argon actions that a man efficacy play But I have that within which passes show, These but the harness and the suits of woe. (I. ii. 86-89) Hamlet knows that his grief is genuine, and he is angered by what he believes are the superficial responses of others. Yet that anger soon turns to introspection as he considers the power of such role-playing. As he banters with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as they feebly examine to discover the source of his bizarre behavior, Hamlet tells them that ?there is / nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it / so? (II. ii. 268-270). He has quickly erudite that appearances can be altered and actions feigned... ...what is?t to forswear betimes? Let be. (V. ii. 234-238) In his search to better understand his protest purpose in life, Hamlet has inadvertently sayed the question he so profoundly posed earlier in the play. Through observing the c haracter of reality and man?s ability to shape it, he learned more about the nature of truth. In discovering an inner sense of courage upon which he could draw, he found the strength he needed to embody his convictions. And finally, by accepting the reality of man?s temporal existence, he came to believe that integrity of thought and action is what gives life its meaning. ?To be or not to be (III. i. 64). Shakespeare?s Hamlet offers a resounding answer to this enigma if life is lived righteously and with conviction of purpose, then ?Let be? (V. ii. 238). WORKS CITED Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York Washington Square, 1992.