Hamlets Soliloquy - To be, or not to be :: Hamlet essays

Hamlets Soliloquy - To be, or not to be Hamlets To be, or not to be soliloquy is arguably the nigh famous soliloquy in the history of the theatre. Even today, 400 years after it was written, most people are vaguely familiar with the soliloquy still though they may not receipt the play. What gives these 34 lines such universal appeal and recognition? What about Hamlets introspection has prompted scholars and theatregoers alike to ask questions about their have got existence over the centuries? In this soliloquy, Shakespeare strikes a chord with a fundamental human concern the validity and worthiness of life. Would it not be easier for us to exclusively enter a never-ending sleep when we find ourselves facing the daunting problems of life than to suffer / the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? However, it is perhaps because we do not know what this endless sleep entails that humans usually opt against suicide. For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil / must(prenominal) give us pause. Shakespeare seems to understand this dilemma through his character Hamlet, and thus the phrase To be, or not to be has been immortalized indeed, it has pervaded our culture to such a incomparable extent that it has been referenced countless times in movies, television, and the media. Popular movies such as Billy Madison quote the famous phrase, and www.tobeornottobe.com serves as an online archive of Shakespeares works. Today, a Shakespeare stereotype is held up by the bulk of society, where they see him as the god of drama, infallible and fundamentally superior to modern playwrights. However, this attitude is not new. Even centuries ago, the faith of Shakespeares work inspired and awed audiences. In a letter dated October 1, 1775, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, commenting on David Garricks production of Hamlet (1742-1776) to his friend Heinrich Christian Boie, likens the To be, or not to be soliloquy to the Lords Prayer. He says that the soliloquy does not naturally make the same impression on the auditor as Hamlets other soliloquies do,But it produces an infinitely great effect than could be expected of an argument on suicide and death in tragedy and this is because a large part of the audience not moreover knows it by