Thursday, October 28, 2010
To be or not to be
The diction employed by Hamlet is one of sophistication yet containing an interrogative nature. Hamlet sounds very much like a philosopher in that he asks classic philosophical questions such as what is the meaning of life and death: :"To be, or not to be" (3.1.56). Hamlet uses figurative language such as "pangs of despis'd love" (3.1.72), this quote is personification because how can love pang, that is not possible. Furthermore, Hamlet is truly puzzled by everything and he uses visid imagery to really express his true feelings. "Whips and scorns of time" (3.1.70) this quote underscores the personification of time and the vivid imagery set up by expressing time as a human being. The diction, figurative language, and imagery help set up the air of questions that reveal Hamlet's character.
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To be, or not to be, that is the question:
ReplyDeleteWhether ‘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. 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 wished. To die, to sleep;
To sleep! Perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
ReplyDeleteWhether ‘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. 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 wished. To die, to sleep;
To sleep! Perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause