William Shakespeare, Hamlet, To Be or not to BE....

Venus Barbaro
Anne Holt Literary Texts & Critical Methods
2/3/11 Seminar
 METER// Iambic Pentameter
On Fortitude

In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” a dichotomy is created by the opening line. It is an existential question, “To Be or Not to Be”, that is the question lingering on the lips of the poet. Before diving into the subtleties suggested by the excerpt, let it be said that there are two ways into this poem, but both leave the reader with opposite positions. [There is the negative and the positive of existence.] In line 57, Shakespeare stresses the word BEING, being in this context is a state of endurance and/or temperance for “the shocks that flesh is heir to,” a metaphor for strength one that leaves myself as reader in a state of mesmerization.

Certain words push at the mind while reading this excerpt, to begin “Question (57)” resonates in the mind; as per the nature of a proper thoughtful question should. The word “whether,” with the WH stressed pushes along the excerpt as forcefully as is polite. In line 58, the FER in suffer is stressed, in caesura, suggesting the pause of active fear; fear that percolates in the mind. Line 59 does quite the opposite, by enjambment, suggesting fullness, as demonstrated by the word FORtune (60) which supports the dichotomy of the excerpt. “A sea of troubles” with SEA stressed implies the lingering of troubles like a vast ocean and leads into the choice in the next line of whether or not to be proactive and work against the troubles.
Here an allusion can be made to the film Amadeus, where Mozart has an alcohol addiction and squanders away all of his money. It is obvious what the choice presented is, in Hamlet, to make a choice against routine vices, where as in Amadeus the protagonist may not have seen the options or the choice so clearly.
Without further deviation, the variation of the word sleep, presents the state as a monotonous longing, the end of line 62 with the unstressed and end-stopped word “end” suggests the unfulfilled dullness of not having achieved sleep, sex, success, et cetera. The excerpt can suggest many lingering lusts that leap into a well of faith. And while the iams lament the THOUsand natuRAL shocks that (63) enjamb into the next line, this variation speaks volumes to the fullness of consummation (64), of sex, of the unity of mind/body/soul vibratory rhythm of creation, creativity and even movement. The variation of the medial caesura of the word “wish” in line 65 further supports, or pushes, the notion of longing, whether tangible or intangible, present in the internal register of the individual, in this case Hamlet.
In line 66 the variation of the word “perchance” suggests a twinge of hope, a spark of climax, a coming closer to the word and the act of dreaming. Perchance is a tricky word affected much by dialectical environment, but nonetheless this does not detract from the swellness of the line, instead it accentuates how phenomenal this line is. The word “rub” while denoting an obstacle or a stressor can actually be flipped to suggest purpose, or more plainly a coming closer to actualization(66). And yet, an uncertainty has not left the air of the poem with the unstressed word “what” in line 67 and the stressed word “DREAM.” Here in lies the question and the dichotomy of the entire poem in anticipation of quite frankly, “the shedding of the mortal coil” (to let the metaphor stand for itself) which denotes moving to the next step, and quite simply the evolution and actualization of the desire (68). The variation of “mortal coil” reminds of the mundanity of not having achieved, the negativity of patience sometimes present in the self-conscious individual and this leads the excerpt in to the next line where in we see a medial caesura in the word “PAUSE” (stressed.)
A pulling forward and a coil of strength, an energy of endurance is present despite the weight of the choice, or the state of being. “There’s” is stressed to incite, a sentiment of here and now, of “finally!” of actualization which the individual anticipates (69.); and which is further supported by the variation of “respect” with my stress on the REspect. Without respect and reverance for the self, and for life, the calamity (variation and caesura present), or the chaos drag down the SO (stressed) long life (unstressed perhaps.) And whether one makes that verbal mark of stress on the word LIFE (70) does vary also on personal experience, yet, what stands out is the power of life, choice and the fulfillment of consummated and unconsummated desires. These desires inform the creativity, and perhaps the sanity and balance, of life’s everyday existence.