Up On Melancholy Hill - Hamlet and the Chore that is Life

"And I, who timidly hate life, fear death with fascination. I fear this nothingness that could be something else, and I fear it as nothing and as something else simultaneously, as if gross horror and non–existence could coincide there, as if my coffin could entrap the eternal breathing of a bodily soul, as if immortality could be tormented by confinement. The idea of hell, which only a satanic soul could have invented seems to me to have derived from this sort of confusion – a mixture of two different fears that contradict and contaminate each other."  - Fernando Pessoa

In this moment from Act 3, Scene 1, we see Hamlet struggle with a question that nags all of us at some point in our lives - what's truly better: life or death? This question is one that has existed since the dawn of man, yet it still has not been given a proper answer. Although Hamlet does not have the answer as to which choice is preferable, he seems to favor the idea of death and its guaranteed release from mortal suffering.

The video begins with a close-up of Hamlet's face with the his features outlined by the light, but the majority of his head concealed in shadow, conveying a sense of sadness. He is alone, propped up against a pillar for support as if the weight of the world is dragging him down. It is completely silent on the set - no music, no commotion, nothing.This helps to set the mood for Hamlet's soliloquy, as its grim nature is something deserving of the utmost reverence.

The actor's voice while delivering the soliloquy is slow, dry, and quiet, enunciating each individual syllable as if the actor's life depends on it. This delivery is appropriate when you consider the things that Hamlet is saying. For example, his third complete sentence is, "To die, to sleep— / [n]o more—and by a sleep to say we end / [t]he heartache and the thousand natural shocks / [t]hat flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation / [d]evoutly to be wished!" (3.1, 68-73). Here, he is viewing death as something to be desired as it can successfully remove anyone from the trials and tribulations life throws at them. When Hamlet puts it like that, death most certainly does seem to be more appealing than living.

However, the soliloquy shifts to tackle the problem with death when Hamlet asks, "But that the dread of something after death, / [t]he undiscovered country from whose bourn / [n]o traveler returns, puzzles the will / [a]nd makes us rather bear those ills we have / [t]han fly to others that we know not of?" (86-90). Although it is guaranteed that death will whisk people away from the problems they face in their daily lives, the reason suicide is not more common is due to the fact that we still do not know what comes after death. We are terrified of the unknown, and whatever comes after death will most likely remain unknown to us until we meet it.

Given this dilemma, that we choose to endure the struggles that accompany life because we are too afraid to die, the actor does a surprisingly good job of portraying the feelings of helplessness and despair. The actor never raises his voice or changes his facial expression throughout the performance. He remains constant in his delivery - a silky whisper that conveys a heavy sense of sadness. He succeeds in depicting how defeated Hamlet is over the realization that he is not brave enough to kill himself, yet welcomes death so he can run away from his problems. He is sullen and at the lowest of lows emotionally, yet he does not cry or scream. Instead, Hamlet merely accepts that he cannot solve his dilemma and chooses to bear with it just as everyone else does.