Today in class we discussed Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, “to be or not to be, that is the question.” We talked about how the monologue was mostly just Shakespeare taking a long time to say, “should I kill myself or not.” But as I was ‘pondering’ upon this deep subject, I compared Hamlet to Macbeth (scary I know.) I haven’t ever read Hamlet before so I’m not sure what happens at the end of the play, but the question that I was debating is whether it’s better to decide or to move on.
Right now Hamlet hasn’t made a decision yet, he’s stuck in the in-between – which isn’t good, it’s driving him crazy. But at the same time, Macbeth did make a choice. Macbeth an extremely tragic play because Macbeth made a decision that was wrong.
It is important for Hamlet to make a choice, but he needs to be careful as he makes it. What his uncle has done is wrong. But two wrongs don’t make a right. Even if murdering his uncle/avenging his father is the right thing, sometimes a right and a wrong don’t make a right – they just make everything worse. If Hamlet does kill his uncle he’s killing the king and leaving his mother widowed again (which may not be such a bad thing seeing as she’s married to a killer.)
But in destroying what Hamlet hates the most, he is re-creating it in himself. If he kills his uncle, what is to separate him from his uncle? Perhaps his motives are different, although I’m sure plenty of people will just see an insane or jealous prince climbing to the throne, but the actions are the same. Is a difference in motive enough?
The question Hamlet is asking, or at least one of them, is: is doing something wrong ever right? Or is there ever a time when something is right that would normally be wrong? When people’s lives and structure get mixed up into society and ethics everything gets confusing and distorted. Is right really right? Is wrong really wrong?
