To Be， or Not to Be： That Is Not a Question： After Reading Hamlet by William Shakespeare

【Abstract】Hamlets soliloquy “to be， or not to be” is undoubtedly his peak of the thought for life-and-death issue that plays an irreplaceable role in an introspective mans daily life. From Lines 56 to 88， Scene 1， Act. 3， the demonstration will be extended from one meaning group from another， backed by several biochemical， astrophysical evidences. With the help of interdisciplinary knowledge， the conclusion is not confined to this aspect of analysis to show the paradox of this weary question but also gradually reveals its essentiality that that is not a question but what people were， are， and well be from the moment of his birth.

【Key words】Shakespeare； Hamlet； live； death

Ben Johnson once were not mean to speak highly of Shakespeare that “He was not of an age， but for all time！” Indeed， the spectacular command， renewing and innovation of language enthrones him to one of the greatest writers of Elizabethan age but the greatest of English language literature. The play Hamlet， regarded as a condensation of William Shakespeares outlook on life， has won an inestimable deal of popularity and readability and Princesss perpetual nobleness and profound introspection even in the unbearable adversity have been universally acknowledged. Now that “[s]oliloquies have tended to be seen as moments of supreme self-revelation， when the self turns outward in the dubious privacy of the empty stage” （Elton 18）， Hamlets soliloquy “to be， or not to be” is undoubtedly his zenith of the thought for life-and-death issue.

From Lines 56 to 88， Scene 1， Act. 3， the core argumentation point is on the first or the first sense group of this excerpt that “to be， or not to be：that is the question”. “To be” is in future tense of the verb “be” and meanwhile the preposition “to” can direct the purpose of the following verb. That is to say， Hamlet starts the argumentation from the current moment with the deliberation of the future measures. However， since this plan is not made from nothing but with a certain purpose instead， it should be based on previous experience and scrutiny. “To be” or “not to be” belongs a pair of complementary antonyms that represents but the two facts of being. If this is “the question”， chances that Hamlet is in twist and turn in this option and is entrapped in a great dilemma where he adds and defines the third state in the end – living death.

The second meaning group should be

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. … （3.1.56–59）

If the first group is merely an outlet of emotion triggered by the unbearably miserable misfortunes happened on a prince， the rest following excerpts serve themselves as the prudent demonstration of his authentic nobleness， profundity， and formidableness that whoever lacks thoughtfulness and the habit of timely retrospection fails to offer. This hard-to-get question is more of a one-in-two choice that either “suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” or “to take arms against a sea of troubles， / And by opposing end them”. In other words， either one can opt to lead a weary life dumbly under the torture of destiny or violently rebels against all the tortures at the sacrifice of peace and stability. Given the fact that in ancient Greek and Roman mythologies， all the deities are immortal yet either obeyed Zeus， the general ruler， or repeat the story of Prometheus with unceasing sufferings in endless life， Hamlet arrange the first oscillatory argument which starts from “death”. Nevertheless， it is noteworthy that the entire standing point， or the criterion for the judgment of “to be” or “not to be” is “Whether tis nobler in the mind …”， indicating it is not the benefit from “to be” or “not to be” but nobleness that matters to Hamlet. Thus， he begins doing death a justice， whose sense group shall be

And by opposing end them. To die， to sleep—

No more—and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache， and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to！ Tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wishd. … （3.1.60–64）

It is a popular superstition that one can gain emancipation and achieve the Buddhist state of Nirvana or Christian Elysium after the last breath out of his body. This is a undoubted “consummation / Devoutly to be wishd”. One difference is a special reminder though that human race is a sort of walking being with powerful， unending thoughts constantly erupting from the volcano of mind. Buddhism divides humans sense organs into six categories – or six roots – which symbolizes human desires and passions， literally：eye， ear， nose， tongue， body and will. The last is the solely non-physical organ but the most significant for the development of cleanness and purity in doctrinal practice. Because of the recognition of will， the spiritual activity is hardly a non-existent， followed by chains of various dreams that extend to the text， saying

Devoutly to be wishd. To die， to sleep—

To sleep—perchance to dream：ay， theres the rub，

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil，

Must give us pause. … （3.1.64–68）

The turning point from 19th to 20th century witnesses the foundation of psychology after the thousand-time lingering and wandering in the field of positivistic science and focused attention on human ourselves. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud thinks that the dream is “the （disguised） fulfilment of a （suppressed， repressed） wish” （68） and the dream will always be beyond recognition in that “there is a strong revulsion against – a will to repress – the subject-matter of the dream， or the wish created by it” （68）. This can be interpreted that dream is to meet the need of breaking the bondage of secular rules and regulations while the desirous causes will be impure and restless in tranquility and engages ourselves into self-imaginative romance out of the reality where deeds and conducts of romanticism are morally or legally prohibited. In this case， the world in dream is in sharp contrast to the real world a man is living in， which Hamlet describes as “calamity” （3.1.69） by intense condemnations.

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time，

Th oppressors wrong， the proud mans contumely，

The pangs of despised love， the laws delay，

The insolence of office， and the spurns

That patient merit of th unworthy takes，

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin？Who would these fardels bear，

To grunt and sweat under a weary life， （3.1.70–77）

Under no circumstances do those inescapable misfortunes quit sticking to us from cradle to grave whereas Chinese who holds Confucian harmony in mind with maximal limit of tolerance and subjection. That is why a man rather complement our desires under the cover of acceptability or even reach that platform with infinite beauty or even and carefreeness in eternity. Thence， Hamlet is about to terminate himself by a dagger when it strikes to him another tough conundrum and that is what the next sense group talks about.

But that the dread of something after death，

The undiscovered country， from whose bourn

No traveler returns， puzzles the will，

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of？（3.1.78–82）

It is inferred that Hamlet is faltered by the unknown fright in that there only has one-direction pre-set trip with the result that the dead is dead forever yet the living is living by relentlessly depicting that scene which is the loyal imaging of his concept of death. Literary masters could never be too generous to exhaust words for objectifying the death. For example， Dante separates dead world into three parts， namely Inferno， Purgatorio and Paradiso respectively in Divine Comedy. In the same light but different Eastern world， there is a description about one of the Buddhist Hells in Chapter 10 in Journey to the West.

The hell of the Pool of Blood， the Avichi Hell， the Hell of the Steelyard Beam，

Where skin is pulled away from the bone，

Arms are broken and tendons cut.

Because they killed for gain，

Butchering living creatures，

They fell into these torments that will not end in a thousand years；

They will always lie here， never to escape.

Every one of them is tightly bound，

Knotted and roped，

Red-faced demons，

And black-faced demons，

Are sent with their long halberds and short swords.

Ox-headed fiends，

With iron clubs and brazen hammers，

Beat them till their wincing faces flow with blood.

As they call on Heaven and Earth and get no answer （Wu 202 and 203）

Backed by the astrophysical field， the recent evidence shows that approximately 73% of the energy density of universe is in dark energy and 23% is non-baryonic dark matter compared with 4% of the ordinary matter constitution that is visible for naked eyes （Ackerman et al. 277）. Scientifically， our bravery for conquering the world and having guts to die is daunted and defeated by this 96% untold world and there is nothing but having a surface touch and useless fantasy one is able to do. So， Hamlet generalizes this sort of cowardice as “ills” （3.1.81） since the unknown slows us down in taking an immediate action of consummation and reduces ourselves to catching the illness of feeble-mindedness in inaction and indecision. Along with the logic， the last sense group is the incisive summary soured by extreme sarcasm. First， anyone is not in conscience：

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all，

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied oer with the pale cast of thought， （3.1.83–85）

And the second，

And enterprises of great pitch and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry，

And lose the name of action. （3.1.86–88）

the ambition is a castle in the air. A man who speaks word much louder than action shall definitely own the name of loser.

In all， Hamlet is a noble prince because he is willing to care about and think over something and the hesitation of this level arises. “[T]he speech puzzles the will， but it makes us capable of facing and bearing puzzlement” （Booth 117）. His monologue speaks out readers ripping mind filled with life-and-death issues. If keeping living， the world is so cruel and unfair that a man seeks death as a shelter， but he dares not to die grant the mysterious and untold world of death and this hesitation shapes us like a coward for our role of deserter in doomed death.

Yes， whoever is reminded of doomed mortality will collapse into the reservoir of dread. If having a quick browse of the dying lying in ICU ward and with not so much time left， insiders discover that their family members and doctors spare no effort to drag the dying out of death， which bring the consequence that they are robbed of liberty for thinking about the death， taking advice from the people they trust and they are physically sentenced by various medicines and operations. The nearer to death， the less likely they are permitted to pass away. In addition， death is sensitive word as well in Chinese education. Word fails on mentioning something about death for the reason that our education is far from sufficient in those instructions of essentiality. Anyone have to be urgently to a right position where questions are pertinent：1） on what proper aspect can one hold on in face of death？2） how can one die dignifiedly？3） if soul exists， where should it go？These questions are beyond positivistic sciences capability to answer and one has to rely considerably on other disciplines like religion.

Nevertheless， what science in narrower meaning and religion shake hands is that metabolism begins from the moment our cells split. Otherwise， our physical mechanism has been metabolizing on our coming into being as a zygote by absorbing nutrition and removing leftovers via umbilical cord. The explanation for the development of a being is absolutely not only growth without declines and down gradation but the former unparallelly outspeeds the latter. Provided by introducing some of the biophysical knowledge， the main integration of nervous system that functions as the communication center and primary computer to ensure other body organs adjust to external changes （McMurray 277）.

As to the development of cell， which is regarded as the smallest unit of the living being， the developing process consists of three components：differentiation， organization， and growth. The first and foremost component in embryological research is tantamount to progressive changes in cell structure and chemistry which lead to the formation of different tissues （Wagner and Mitchell 345）.

These two unquestioning facts convince us that the change in our body had been undergoing all the time and all the signals of staying alive are given by our brain. Therefore， to be or not to be， it is not a question but what a person is on the grounds that he has been experiencing death the moment he was born. Euphemistically and alternatively， being born and getting old can rank themselves the most natural things throughout a life span whilst the distinguish between the two people is the way they brood over and the way they lead. Harold Jenkins argues that Hamlet “offers us a hero who， in a world where good and evil inseparably mingle， is tempted to shun the human lot but comes at length to embrace it， choosing finally “to be”” （237）. Now that the ultimate farewell to the world is a matter of time， some illuminating lessons ought to be drawn here. First， one cannot abandon our ability of thinking over something and being self-motivational in our limited life and putting a brake on hedonism and nihilism. Anyone shall attach large importance to the presence and shall seize every millisecond of life so as to take it as the prelude of the death and also transform the death as another beginning of next round of life. Only in this thinking mode enables us to create a happy and unregretful life and die hard.

References：

[1]Ackerman， Lotty， et al. “Dark Matter and Dark Radiation.” Dark Matter in Astrophysics and Particle Physic. Ed. Hans Volker Klapdor-Kleingrothaus and Irina V. Krivosheina. Danvers， MA： World Scientific， 2010. 277–86. Print.

[2]Booth， Stephen. “On the Value of Hamlet.” Shakespearean Criticism. Vol. 44. Ed. Michelle Lee. Farmington Hills， MI： Gale Research， 1999. 107–19. Print.

[3]Elton， W. R. “Shakespeare and the Thought of His Age.” The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 2008. 17–34. Print.

[4]Freud， Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams. Trans. A. A. Brill. Ware， Hertfordshire： Wordsworth Classics， 1997. Print.

[5]Jenkins， Harold. “‘To Be， or Not to Be， Hamlets Dilemma.” Shakespearean Criticism. Vol. 44. Ed. Michelle Lee. Farmington Hills， MI： Gale Research， 1999. 229–37. Print.

[6]McMurray， W. C. Essentials of Human Metabolism： The Relationship of Biochemistry to Human Physiology and Disease. Hagerstown， Virginia： Harper & Row， 1977. Print.

[7]Shakespeare， William. Hamlet. New York City： Signet Classics， 1998. Print.

[8]Wagner， Robert P. and Herschel K. Mitchell. Genetics and Metabolism. New York City， NY； London； Wiley： Chapman & Hall， 1955. Print.

[9]Wu， Chengen. Journey to the West. Vol. 1. Trans. W. J. F. Jenner. Beijing： Foreign Languages Press， 2008. Print.

作者簡介：金柯帆（1992-），男，浙江舟山人，现为首都师范大学英语语言文学硕士研究生，研究方向：英美文学、二外日语习得。