Introduction to Hamlet

Hamlet is one of the greatest work of Shakespeare.

We will focus our attention on the world famous monologue: Hamlet is speaking to himself and he is reflecting on the meaning of existence.

The reader should consider that Hamlet is very angry because he is almost sure that his uncle murdered his father. The reader should consider that the play is set in Denmark. There is a dark setting since Hamlet meets his father at night. Hamlet’s father was the king of Denmark, therefore he represented all the nation of Denmark.

As a young man he would like to take revenge against his uncle: he would like to kill him.

A further consideration about the play is that again the play takes its name from the name of the protagonist. It is a typical feature of the Renaissance to put the human being at the centre of the discussion and the reflection.

The difference between a monologue and a soliloquy

In origin, the words are doublets: Greek monologue and Latin soliloquy both mean 'single speech'. But they are now distinguished in performances with monologue as a speech made by one person in the company of others while a soliloquy is spoken by one person who is alone. A monologue is a long speech delivered by one person who forgets or neglects the others who are there. On the other hand, Hamlet's "To be or not to be" is a great example of a soliloquy.

In his soliloquy, Hamlet tries to consider what is the best action to take between two opposite possibilities, two opposite behaviors: shall he suffer in his mind or fight against the outrageous fortune?

Literary, Hamlet wonders whether to keep the pain in his mind or to take arms and fight against a sea of troubles.

Shakespeare conveys the state of a very dubitative mind. Whenever the human being is in front of a very difficult decision he generally ponders what is the better position to take. Shakespeare observes the attitudes of the human mind.

Going in depth into the different options he analyses the different possibilities: the first is to die, that is ‘not to be’. Hamlet analyses the situation of somebody who decides to die and the colons opens up the argumentation: to die means to sleep forever. And if you fall in an eternal sleep you will suffer no more. Shakespeare, through Hamlet’s words, is pondering about someone who dies, who will not suffer both in the mind and in the body.

What kind of language is used by Hamlet? It is important to consider linguistic and semantic choices since they reveal the deeper meaning of the text. Thanks to an intelligent use of language, the soliloquy acquires an existential quality and an existential dimension. We have to carry out a textual analysis: what words does the poet chose? While writing, Shakespeare took into consideration that Hamlet’s speech would be performed, therefore he considered the effect of the words on the audience.

Would it have the same effect saying ‘to live or not to live’ in spite of ‘to be or not to be’? No, it wouldn’t, because ‘to live’ refers to physical life; on the contrary ‘to be’ opens multiple choices of interpretation. It may mean ‘to exist’, ‘to live’ or ‘to remain alive’.

The infinite mood magnifies the meaning of the verb. Even from the structural point of view, the reader should understand that the structure of the monologue  consists in a contraposition of opposite elements: to be or not to be, to die and to live. There are a lot of levels of meaning, and as if there were a scale, Hamlet is pondering the two different positions.   

On one hand, he speaks about to be ‘nobler in the mind’, since he is already an aristocrat. On the other one, he uses a very concrete language, and concrete expressions such as ‘slings and arrows’ that materially convey the pain. Concrete language is juxtaposed to the abstract consideration ‘to be or not to be’, creating a contraposition between the abstract and the concrete.