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Hamlet's Soliloquy "To Be Or Not To Be"

The purpose of this research is to examine the philosophy articulated in Hamlet's III.i soliloquy "To be or not to be" and apply it in depth to the metaphysics of Plato and Descartes. The plan of the research will be to set forth in general terms the metaphysics articulated in this soliloquy in particular and in Hamlet as a whole and then to discuss in more detail ways in which Hamlet's conceptualization of what is real--containing as it does an interpretation of being-itself (ontology) as well as a philosophical interpretation of the place of the individual in the universe (cosmology)--may intersect with, interpret, or differ from comprehensive world views articulated by Plato and Descartes.

The III.i soliloquy is Hamlet's core articulation of a Weltanschauung of irony as the fundamental fact of the human condition. Caught in a situation repugnant to him and not of his making, paralyzed, as it seems, by contemplation of the consequences of resolving that situation in one way or another, yet at the same time psychologically impelled toward behaving in some way that will effect a resolution of the situation, Hamlet tries in III.i to sort out the reality of his predicament, with a view toward figuring out what to do next. But "To be or not to be" is not merely about whether Hamlet should avenge the death of his father. Hamlet's agony of indecision regarding Claudius is a metaphor of dramatic action embedded within the aesthetic metaphor of tragic action, which is itself a mechanism for clarifying a pattern of ideas that is a meditation on the universality of human contingency.

As Kitto indicates, the reason behind this meditation is the fact that the Ghost has taken Hamlet

to the edge of an abyss; he is indeed drawn into madness. What he sees, as he peers into this abyss, is . . . an evil so appalling, so unfathomable, that he has no foundations left either for action or for passion. The "madness" into which he is drawn is one ...

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Hamlet's Soliloquy "To Be Or Not To Be". (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:57, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1711990.html