I proclaim: we will have no more marriages. 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? We've lost a lot of great minds recently Nora Ephron, Maurice Sendak, David Rakoff, and Hitch himself and we think this end-of-life memoir in essays, full of Hitchens' trademark wit and his. Oh, what guilt! Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. There, my lord. Oh, poor me, to have seen Hamlet as he was, and now to see him in this way! Because the kinds of dreams that might come in that sleep of deathafter you have left behind your mortal bodyare something to make you anxious. Thus, the fear of death makes us allcowards, and our natural willingness to act is made weak by too much thinking. When we have shuffled off this mortal coil. Soft you now, The fair Ophelia! In this part of the To be, or not to be quote, Hamlets subconscious mind reminds him about his sufferings. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles. Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns . You can also read these heartfelt poems about depressionand incredible poems about death. Undoubtedly, it is the thoughts of death. To die, to sleep No moreand by a sleep to say we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir totis a consummation Devoutly to be wished! After this line, the speaker presents a series of causes that lead to his suffering. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in,imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. I am the most miserable of all the women who once enjoyed hearing his sweet words. The final moment when all the sufferings come to an end is death. The syntax of the soliloquy is structured in a way that gives it an almost . The first line of his soliloquy is open-ended. There are thousands of natural shocks that the human body is destined to suffer. It is the first line of Hamlets widely known soliloquy. Get yourself to to a convent. At this point of the whole soliloquy, it becomes crystal clear that Hamlet is not ready to embrace death easily. God has given you one face and you make yourselves another. My honored lord, you know right well you did, And with them, words of so sweet breath composed As made the things more rich. Their perfume lost, Take these again, for to the noble mind Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. The opening line of Hamlets soliloquy, To be, or not to be is one of the most-quoted lines in English. Gentlemen, try to nurture this interest of his, and keep him focused on these amusements. No matter how hard we try to be virtuous, our natural sinfulness will always come out in the end. 359 , Road No. Page 251 - The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When. who would these fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th'unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make Farewell. Copy. With all my heart, Im glad to hear of his interest. Gentlemen, try to nurture this interest of his, and keep him focused on these amusements. That patient merit of th unworthy takes. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely. Please continue to help us support the fight against dementia with Alzheimer's Research Charity. To die, to sleep. I loved you not. His mental struggle to end the pangs of his life gets featured in this soliloquy. According to the, Such thoughts confuse the speaker more. But also as if he he had to force himself to act that way. How To Follow Along; Writing a Flink Python Table API Program; Executing a Flink Python Table API Program With this regard their currents turn awry. Not only that, Hamlet is quite depressed by the wrongs inflicted upon the innocents by the haughty kings. To a nunnery, go. Niggard of question, but of our demandsMost free in his reply. Readers should not take this question at its surface value. net. Who would fardels bear, 85 To grunt and sweat under a weary life, A living being cannot know what happens there. The situations mentioned here have occurred in others lives too. Lets see how our on-screen Sherlock performs Hamlets. What are these shocks? From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. It is not clear whether Hamlets deliriously spoke this soliloquy or he was preparing himself to die. He is mistreated in all spheres, be it on a personal level such as love, or in public affairs. If readers strictly adhere to the plot, they can decode this line differently. Why wouldst thou be a breeder ofsinners? Just before committing suicide or yielding to death wholeheartedly, such thoughts appear in a persons mind. To be, or not to be by William Shakespeare describes how Hamlet is torn between life and death. The full quotation is regarded as a soliloquy. Hamlets utterings reflect a sense of longing for death. We respond to all comments too, giving you the answers you need. Must give us pause. Struggling with distance learning? Secondly, if he refuses to submit to his animalistic urges, the pain lying deep in his subconscious mind is going to torture his soul. Next, by "the oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely," Hamlet refers to a general abuse of power by superiors or oppressors. https://poemanalysis.com/william-shakespeare/to-be-or-not-to-be/, Poems covered in the Educational Syllabus. The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin! Im as good as the next man, and yet I could accuse myself of such horrible crimes that it wouldve been better if my mother had never given birth to me. who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life? It seems that the, From these lines, it becomes clear what questions are troubling the tragic hero, Hamlet. When we mentioned them to Hamlet, he seemed to feel a kind of joy. In the First Folio it is "the poor man's contumely." Back to Soliloquy Annotations How to cite this article: Go to a convent. 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? For example, lets have a look at the metrically scanned opening line of the soliloquy: To be,/ or not/ to be,/ that is/ the quest(io)n: The last syllable of the line contains an elision. We heard it all. He also refers to the arrogance and insults of proud men; Hamlet . To be, or not to be, the opening line of Hamlets mindful soliloquy, is one of the most thought-provoking quotes of all time. Beautiful gifts lose their value when the givers turn out to be unkind. The comparison is between the vastness of the sea to the incalculable troubles of the speakers life. Yes, definitely, because the power of beauty is more likely to change a good girl into a whore than the power of purity is likely to change a beautiful girl into a virgin. In Hamlets case, his aware mind makes him confused regarding the happenings after death. Lets have a look at some of the works where the opening line of Hamlets soliloquy is mentioned. . Hamlet speaks in Act 3, Scene 1 of William Shakespeares tragedy, Hamlet. This something-settled matter in his heart, Whereon his brains still beating puts him thus. [To CLAUDIUS] Your Majesty, if you agree, lets go hide. Those situations not only make his mind bruised but also make him vulnerable to the upcoming arrows. The speaker refers to two types of pain. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Before reading this soliloquy, readers have to go through the plots that happened in the play. Lets watch two of the notable actors portraying the character of Hamlet. These lines collectively contain a device called the, is one of the best-known quotes from all the Shakespearean works combined. To die: to sleep: Nor more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to; 'tis a . Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, Was not like madness. Because who would bear all the trials and tribulations of timethe oppression of the powerful, the insults from arrogant men, the pangs of unrequited love, the slowness of justice, the disrespect of people in office, and the general abuse of good people by badwhen you could just settle all your debts using nothing more than an unsheathed dagger? May he get locked in, so he can play the fool in his own home only. Shakespeare derived the story of Hamlet from the legend of Amleth. And drive his purpose on to these delights. Hopefully the sea and all the new things to see in a different country will push out these thoughts that have somehow taken root in his mind, making him a stranger to his former self. Goodbye. Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, It is a soliloquy that Hamlet speaks directly to the audience to make his thoughts and intentions known to them. Or if you must get married, marry a fool, because wise men know that women will eventually cheat on them. Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? We heard it all. Everyone else will have to stay single. Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, But now the joy they brought me is gone, so please take them back. On the other hand, he is a philosophical character. Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns. Why should people like me be allowed to crawl between heaven and earth? Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's 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? You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said. "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, / Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely / The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, / The insolence of office, and the spurns / That patient merit of th' unworthy takes, / When he himself might his quietus make" (Lines 15-20) C. He was the perfect rose and great hope of our countrythe model of good manners, the trendsetter, the center of attention. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time. In Act 3 Scene 1, Hamlet is seen walking in the hall and musing whether To be, or not be to himself. It hath made me mad. There's the respect must give us pause: Wake Duncan with thy knocking! Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The rest shall keep asthey are. Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despis'd love, the law's 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 fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death,