At least living was an option he gave himself // Ezra Kennedy
“To be or not to be—that is the question”
A very well-known quote of William Shakespeare, that one. Various forms of that quote have crossed my ears from many different television series, many different books and other forms of media. I hadn’t really known from where it came, but I always subconsciously associated it with Romeo and Juliet, that it had to do with being or not being in love, sacrificing or remaining consistent in past acts. I don’t believe it’s ever crossed my mind that this quote not only is from Hamlet, but it projects Hamlets thoughts of suicide. Hamlet wonders to himself which is nobler, to give in to the winged assaults of the fleeting whim of fortune, good or bad, to give into his mind’s sorrow; or to fight back that which raises its arms against him, to survive and put an end to his “sea of troubles.”
“To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks...”
Though Hamlet speaks to Himself he doesn’t address himself, he doesn’t externally connect himself to the emotion-filled words he sings. These are his emotions but that is only implied not directly shared.
Early Hadley decides that he will pretend to go crazy, and he seems to be doing quite well, they believe him. One wouldn’t be wrong to be suspicious of how well he’s doing, I think it would be quite difficult for a sane person to be able to pretend to be as crazy as he is. I think that what he believes to be a farce is actually a thread pulling at the darkest thoughts that “sanity” covered up. To live or die, that is the question he posed. Who would choose to live such a dreadful life dragged through the boot treads of the oppressor that is other men, or life. He says that, but then realises that our conscience makes a clear thinker of most men. The thought of venturing into a world unknown, a world bridged by death and a mystery to all who live, the thought of dying makes all men cowards and strips them of the strength they thought they had to carry out the final act.
His melancholic thought is then interrupted when Lady Ophelia begins coming his way and they begin conversing. Well, that conversation then leads to more thoughts of the same where he curses all marriage and urges strongly for Ophelia to join a nunnery and take a vow of purity so she would not become a breeder of sinners.
This all seems incoherent to me (my post) but I also think it’s all a sign of his once cloaked lunacy bleeding into the game he thought he was playing. He’s taken “getting into character” a bit seriously and it seems the raw emotions that humans try to battle or hide get the best of him in a subtle way. He sees no correlation between his decision to play the psychopath and his slow descent into insanity.
At least living was an option he gave himself and didn’t just decide to end it all.
PS. I commented on Madison’s and
A very well-known quote of William Shakespeare, that one. Various forms of that quote have crossed my ears from many different television series, many different books and other forms of media. I hadn’t really known from where it came, but I always subconsciously associated it with Romeo and Juliet, that it had to do with being or not being in love, sacrificing or remaining consistent in past acts. I don’t believe it’s ever crossed my mind that this quote not only is from Hamlet, but it projects Hamlets thoughts of suicide. Hamlet wonders to himself which is nobler, to give in to the winged assaults of the fleeting whim of fortune, good or bad, to give into his mind’s sorrow; or to fight back that which raises its arms against him, to survive and put an end to his “sea of troubles.”
“To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks...”
Though Hamlet speaks to Himself he doesn’t address himself, he doesn’t externally connect himself to the emotion-filled words he sings. These are his emotions but that is only implied not directly shared.
Early Hadley decides that he will pretend to go crazy, and he seems to be doing quite well, they believe him. One wouldn’t be wrong to be suspicious of how well he’s doing, I think it would be quite difficult for a sane person to be able to pretend to be as crazy as he is. I think that what he believes to be a farce is actually a thread pulling at the darkest thoughts that “sanity” covered up. To live or die, that is the question he posed. Who would choose to live such a dreadful life dragged through the boot treads of the oppressor that is other men, or life. He says that, but then realises that our conscience makes a clear thinker of most men. The thought of venturing into a world unknown, a world bridged by death and a mystery to all who live, the thought of dying makes all men cowards and strips them of the strength they thought they had to carry out the final act.
His melancholic thought is then interrupted when Lady Ophelia begins coming his way and they begin conversing. Well, that conversation then leads to more thoughts of the same where he curses all marriage and urges strongly for Ophelia to join a nunnery and take a vow of purity so she would not become a breeder of sinners.
This all seems incoherent to me (my post) but I also think it’s all a sign of his once cloaked lunacy bleeding into the game he thought he was playing. He’s taken “getting into character” a bit seriously and it seems the raw emotions that humans try to battle or hide get the best of him in a subtle way. He sees no correlation between his decision to play the psychopath and his slow descent into insanity.
At least living was an option he gave himself and didn’t just decide to end it all.
PS. I commented on Madison’s and
I also was not aware that the quote came from Hamlet and had no clue it related back to suicide. It made me think about the seriousness that lies underneath the famous words. I also love the way you phrased your title and ending sentence. Most people at that low of a state dont give themself that second option, and I am glad you addressed it. Fantastic blog, E!
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