Scene analysis Act 3, Scene 1

What goes on in the scene  

The first scene of the third act of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is famous because of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” monologue. However, it is by no means the only special feature of the scene: Hamlet and Ophelia are presented to the audience for the first time in direct interaction, Ophelia delivers her first and only soliloquy, and Claudius and Polonius eavesdrop on the conversation between the two young lovers. We also get an indication that Claudius regrets his brother’s murder as he exclaims: “O heavy burthen!” (3.1.62).

The “To be or not to be” monologue 

Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy is not kept in secret, but overheard by Claudius, Polonius, and Ophelia. They all thus learn that he is entangled in thoughts that go far beyond his personal destiny and deal with the fundamental questions of life: Life after death and the question of whether it is preferable to earthly life.

In the way Hamlet talks about death, it is not unlikely that he is playing with the idea of suicide. Even at the beginning of the drama, he seems to have largely finished with earthly life and sincerely regrets being bound by Christian commandments that condemn suicide as ungodly: “O, that this too too so...

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