Hamlet's Emo Phase

“To be or not to be, that is the question” says Hamlet in his famous soliloquy. To live, or to die? Hamlet’s dramatic monologue is not the only occurrence in which he contemplates death, but it is considered the most famous. William Shakespeare deliberately gave Hamlet the line as a soliloquy. Benedict Cumberbatch believes this was done to provoke empathy from the audience, and I agree. There is a certain intimacy between the audience and actor during a monologue, because the actor has the chance to speak directly to them. In Hamlet, many of the characters are fairly “two-faced.” They act differently depending who they are talking to, deceiving and lying to others in the play. A monologue shows the true belief of the character, instead of a false version meant to deceive. This distinct monologue reveals Hamlet as he almost gives up on life, and his contemplation of suicide.

Ah, and there is the rub. Many (including myself) believe that Hamlet’s slow descent into madness is fake, a mask put on to fool his uncle and Polonius. The “to be or not to be” soliloquy exposes the possibility that this assumption is wrong - Hamlet could be genuinely deeply disturbed by the events in his life. (particularly his uncle murdering his father and marrying his mother.) At the very least, it is possible his madness is not feigned completely.

However, I do not empathize with Hamlet. I understand how somebody could - the monologue is extremely depressing and personal.Yet to me, this back and forth between “oh the sweet slumbers of death” and “how I wish to live!” (not direct quotes) is reminiscent of middle school. Hamlet is supposed to be in his late 20s, not 13 and going through an emo phase.

There was only one version of the monologue, out of the 5 I watched, that actually struck empathy with me.

Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Hamlet had its faults, sure, but his rendition of the famous soliloquy stood out to me. Instead of the angst portrayed by many other actors, Gibson remained soft, sad, and clearly depressed. It was in line with what I pictured when reading the book.

William Shakespeare knew what he was doing when he gave Hamlet the soliloquy. I only wish he was still around to tell us why. Maybe it was to spark emotion with the audience, but it is entirely possible he had a different plan in mind.