To be or not to be

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

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?

The fans of literature are no stranger to this sonnet from Shakespeare’s most celebrated play, perhaps even more than Romeo and Juliet, the Hamlet. This particular piece of literature has been most widely read, adapted, quoted, exploited and written upon as doctorate thesis yet it continues to inspire the present generation and will continue to do so in future.

The play talks about treachery, romance, revenge and righteousness. This play holds great significance in the real world even today. The characters though primeval have terrific similarities to present day people and the writing style though little outdated is ornated with  beautiful language, vivid imagery and beautiful figure of speeches. The lines of the play are just as memorable as the characters themselves and live with you long after the play ends. “To thine ownself be true”, is one another of those masterpieces. The famous speech of Hamlet on ‘Greatness of man’ is another memorable piece giving the play a quite unique place of its own in the golden pages of history.

Hamlet’s predicament though a part of history can be philosophically linked  to any man’s mental state facing betrayal, injustice and duty. Battling his own emotions he is forced upon to bring justice to his deceased father, understand the precarious emotions of his mother and rise dutifully to his position of the prince of Denmark simultaneously dealing with his romantic association to his beloved. Written during the Renaissance age, Hamlet, in a way is the face of change. Educated in modern ways, fueled with vengeance and indifferent to futile wars for honor, Hamlet is psychologically one of the most complex characters to be ever penned down. The macabre ends with both the protagonist and all majorly related characters facing death but not before the treacherous king being brought  to justice. In some of the final phrases before the last battle Hamlet observes the helplessness of the man at the hands of his fate in the face of death. Hamlet is a character who inspires to love dearly, seek passionately and most important of all(as already quoted in the opening of this post) to act in the face of ever challenging predicament “TO BE OR NOT TO BE.”

P.S. : Anybody interested in the subject matter can refer to a succinct summary at absoluteshakespeare.com

http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/hamlet/summary/hamlet_summary.htm