If you ever find the time to try and understand in full this soliloquy of Shakespeare then you have learnt the english language in full. It is the single greatest piece of writing in all history of the english language.
To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep No more; and by a sleep, to say we end the heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks that Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep, To sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death, what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause. There's the respect that makes Calamity of so long life: For who would bear the Whips and Scorns of time, the Oppressor's wrong, the proud man's Contumely, the pangs of despised Love, the Law’s delay, the insolence of Office, and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes, when he himself might his Quietus make with a bare Bodkin? Who would Fardels bear, [F: these Fardels] to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of. Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, and thus the native hue of Resolution Is sicklied o'er, with the pale cast of Thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment, [F: pith] with this regard their Currents turn awry, [F: away] And lose the name of Action. Soft you now, The fair Ophelia? Nymph, in thy Orisons Be all my sins remember'd.[2]
Maybe it's like the Mona Lisa. If you'd never heard this quoted before, and instead were under the impression that some user here wrote it, what would you really think of it?
James Stewart
I'd think it's pretentious because it's written as if it were from 400 years ago. No one should write like that in 2018.
Austin Scott
"I don't trust anybody. I don't even trust myself" Stalin
Connor Powell
TL;DR Ugh, life's a bitch!
Joshua Murphy
lmao he's just whining like a bitch because he didn't get his way
Nolan Lopez
Truer words were never spoken
Camden Edwards
overrated by miiiiiillleeeeezzzzzzzz not even one of the 5 best speeches in that PLAY this is the best hamlet speech btw:
>yfw you realize Hamlet is just a retelling of one of the stories of Horus.
Colton Fisher
>Step on the library, and step on it.
Josiah Thompson
I came in the thread just to mention this. I would also argue that it's just one part in Hamlet's 3-part catharsis which builds in rapid succession, this one, the monologue in the graveyard, and the oft-neglected convo with Horatio before the match
Gabriel Brown
Underrated monologues?
Be absolute for death; either death or life Shall thereby be the sweeter. Reason thus with life: If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing That none but fools would keep: a breath thou art, Servile to all the skyey influences, That dost this habitation, where thou keep'st, Hourly afflict: merely, thou art death's fool; For him thou labour'st by thy flight to shun And yet runn'st toward him still. Thou art not noble; For all the accommodations that thou bear'st Are nursed by baseness. Thou'rt by no means valiant; For thou dost fear the soft and tender fork Of a poor worm. Thy best of rest is sleep, And that thou oft provokest; yet grossly fear'st Thy death, which is no more. Thou art not thyself; For thou exist'st on many a thousand grains That issue out of dust. Happy thou art not; For what thou hast not, still thou strivest to get, And what thou hast, forget'st. Thou art not certain; For thy complexion shifts to strange effects, After the moon. If thou art rich, thou'rt poor; For, like an ass whose back with ingots bows, Thou bear's thy heavy riches but a journey, And death unloads thee. Friend hast thou none; For thine own bowels, which do call thee sire, The mere effusion of thy proper loins, Do curse the gout, serpigo, and the rheum, For ending thee no sooner. Thou hast nor youth nor age, But, as it were, an after-dinner's sleep, Dreaming on both; for all thy blessed youth Becomes as aged, and doth beg the alms Of palsied eld; and when thou art old and rich, Thou hast neither heat, affection, limb, nor beauty, To make thy riches pleasant. What's yet in this That bears the name of life? Yet in this life Lie hid moe thousand deaths: yet death we fear, That makes these odds all even.
Joshua Bell
It's still objectively pretty deep and human in my opinion. The basic gist --- shouldn't we commit suicide if life is just suffering? but the thing is that no one knows what happens after death, so our fears of it make us not do it, just like, in general, thought makes us not do great actions --- is pretty psychologically nuanced and definitely deserves to be iconic in world literature.
Andrew Hernandez
It's good. You don't dream when you're dead though. That small tidbit of complete illogic kind of ruins it for me.
Lucas Ramirez
i think it's kinda like a uh like a metaphorical exploration of the concept y'know even tho the possibility of an afterlife is very much a part of elsinore's 'ontology' given there are ghosts and all
Kevin Long
yeah i get it but your explanation of it is exactly why i don't care for it
Owen Russell
i think what i was driving at kinda kinda swerved on ya there
Parker Lewis
What did he mean by "Thou art not noble; For all the accommodations that thou bear'st Are nursed by baseness. Thou'rt by no means valiant; For thou dost fear the soft and tender fork Of a poor worm. Thy best of rest is sleep, And that thou oft provokest; yet grossly fear'st Thy death, which is no more."?
Kevin Gonzalez
Wong. Shakespeare's best quote, which fittingly belongs to his best play (Macbeth), is this:
She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word. — To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing.
Cooper Phillips
death is no thing to fear and you are a coward for doing so it's basically like sleep bro lol what's ur problem
keep in mind this is a comedy and the duke is aiming to bag this dude's sister in time (and does, at the end of the play)
Easton Davis
how the fuck do you know, you retarded faggot?
Joseph Peterson
>best play >anything but The Tempest
Ethan Jones
>Non native english speaker >can't read anything written by Shakespeare
David Martinez
Literally everything is egypt or sumer
Isaac Rivera
>The Tempest >not King Lear Please refrain from posting Veeky Forums ever again, thanks
Brandon Morgan
>native english speaker and monolingual >couldn't understand it until 19 Just continue reading and eventually you'll understand it. If not being able to interpret Shakespeare bothers you enough, you might want to start reading works with similar grammar to get accustomed to the style.
Chase Hill
>mfw I just bought an ebook of Shakespeare's complete works >mfw it's 13300 pages.
Jace White
This really got to me
Ian Carter
I thought hamlets monologue at the end of act 4 scene iv was way more significant but w/e
"“...you don't know what it is to doubt everything, even yourself. No, you don't; you couldn't with eyebrows like yours.”
― Bram Stoker, Dracula
Lucas Torres
I gonna put this quote on the youtube videos of Jim Carey recently saying about he is not Jim Carey, he is nobody, he is just in the moment.
Luis Wood
aye, there's the rub
Aaron Wood
What is the best way to suicide? I was believing it was heroin OD through the veins but someone told me no it is painful??? I'm seriously out of here dude, I mean I tried to file patent but then didn't have the money for the patent I knew was the patent worth billions. I don't have children just an old mother who refuses to give me the $11000US I need to file the patent. There is no point in developing the app for the tech anymore if I dont have the patent. And I told her, "I'm not going to work in a supermarket or an office with cunts, they all cunts in an office, you go out to dinner with them they only want to fuck you to rise above you. This is not a life for me". Then I thought, what about the life of a hobo? I saw the documentary about the island off japan of monkeys that has reclusive monkeys living alone outside the community, just surviving alone? But as you seen from the quotes here of Shakespeare what is the point? You are only fighting to the final end which is 100% guaranteed death. So why not just suicide? youtube.com/watch?v=6o6zMPLcXZ8
My question is, what is the best way to suicide?
Justin Perez
Nobody cares that a guy allegedly called "Shakespeare" wrote this. Its the glory of Veeky Forums that your words/post disappear in an hour on /pol/ in a week here it seems. Nobody cares. The point is can someone find a reason to live if you don't have children and both your parents have died? Is not herion the best way to get out? I know this world for 40 years and all it's lies, and its like like walking through the valley of death constantly.
Zachary Taylor
>Great and powerful governments, Commanding Peace, come into existence only in ages of decadence; when nations are on the downward grade. If the human animal lives a natural, cleanly life, out on the plains and forests away, where oceans rollers crash along the shore, or on the banks of the pouring rivers he requires no police-force to 'protect' him — no usurious Jew to rob him of his harvests — no tax-gathering legislators to vote away his property, and no 'priests of the Idol' to 'save' his soul.
Ayden Bell
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come?
Adam Fisher
Did he trust in the Eternal Science of Dialectical Materialism™ though?
Nicholas James
Peter Styvessant begged the duch authority of New Amsterdam to allow him to expel the jews who had arrived in the colony after being expelled by the Portuguese from Purnembucu Brasil. His request was deified. Look it up. Is why there is today jews lobbying to have the statue monument of him removed. If you know all history, this was the biggest mistake of all history and the Dutch are to blame. youtube.com/watch?v=rNUsOaB5V2c
Adam Miller
Jews are taking over the whole world. If I was was a billionaire I would insist all my children must marry jews. They are THAT won.
Elijah Roberts
>biggest mistake of all history Mistake for who? Jews made New York flourish.
Benjamin Gray
I feel you, I had to re-read Hamlet like three times to even properly understand what was going on. Just keep trying, it’s worth it.
Jason Price
That's not even all his shit. Vast majority of old plays weren't written down like they are today. Instead each actor would receive just their lines, memorize them, and then piece everything together during the rehursals. Because of this the bits of Shakespeare's works that survived where the really popular stories that would get done multiple times as well as his poems that would get published.
Jaxson Watson
[sentence fragment]
Joseph Wright
>Bitches aint shit but hoes and tricks -Snoop Dogg
Elijah Kelly
I've always felt it was a personal thing. I've had an obsession with falling and blood since I was like eight, associating falling with freedom and blood with feeling, so when I tried I knew it was going to involve one of those.
Personally I went with blood thinners, alcohol and a straight razor blade. Said my goodbyes without saying goodbye, then took a nice leisurely hike into the woods. Followed the path for a while, then turned right and walked throigh nature for about fifteen minutes. Sat down by a creek and slit my arms from elbow to wrist.
For me that was the ideal method. The alcohol had dulled my senses to the point where it really only felt like a dull pinch and I felt like I was drifting off to sleep more peacefully than I could ever remember doing.
Obviously it didn't go entirely perfectly, as I'm typing this, but who could have predicted some random jogger being that far off the beaten track at just the wrong time?
The most important thing is not to take chances like that, really. I'd considered it might happen and thought the chances negligable, but here I am now, 'friends and family' that haven't spoken a kind word to me in years refusing to let me go. Eventually they'll get sick of me and I'll be able to do it properly, of course, but it's still an annoyance.
Brody Lewis
And then we die that's why we get high cuz you neva know when you gonna go.
Leo Perez
And the whole world opened up before me because I had no dreams.
Lucas Harris
are you retarded or ironic?
Lincoln Allen
fuck mobb deep, fuck biggie, fuck bad boy as a staff, record label and as a motherfuckin crew, and if you want to be down with bad boy, then fuck you, too
Oliver Ramirez
Motherfuck Dre, motherfuck Snoop, motherfuck Death Row!
Nicholas Rogers
It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way.
Christian Cox
Finally, the whipping stopped and Kimberly was allowed to hang, sweat running down her firm, naked body. Two Putties each grabbed one of her legs, spread her legs, lifted her, and tied her ankles to poles. She was hanging horizontally, spread-eagled in mid-air. Tortura approached her, and Kimberly trembled in fear. Tortura held the whip in front of Kimberly's face. Kimberly closed her eyes and turned her head away from the whip, but Tortura grabbed her by the hair, twisted her face to his, and roared, "Look at me! Look at what's happening to you!" He allowed the whip to run over her face, her shoulders, her breasts, nipples, and stomach. Finally, he walked between her legs and began to stroke her cunt and pubic hair. Kimberly moaned in agony and closed her eyes, once again turning her head away from what was happening to her. Then, Tortura grabbed Kimberly's pubic hair and gave a yank. Pain shot through her and her eyes popped open and she squealed. The Tortura drew back the whip. "Oh, my God!" cried Kimberly as Tortura sent the whip into her cunt. Kimberly screamed a piteous scream of pain as the whip struck her pussy. "Oh, God, oh God no Oh God AAAHHHH!"
Joseph Cruz
First off, fuck yo' bitch and the clique you claim Westside when we ride, come equipped with game You claim to be a player, but I fucked your wife We bust on Bad Boys, niggas fucked for life Plus, Puffy tryna see me, weak hearts I rip Biggie Smalls and Junior M.A.F.I.A. is some mark-ass bitches We keep on comin' while we runnin' for your jewels Steady gunnin', keep on bustin' at them fools, you know the rules Lil' Caesar, go ask your homie how I'll leave ya Cut your young-ass up, leave you in pieces, now be deceased Lil' Kim, don't fuck around with real G's Quick to snatch yo' ugly ass off the streets, so fuck peace! I'll let them niggas know it's on for life Don't let the Westside ride tonight (ha ha ha) Bad Boy murdered on wax and killed Fuck with me and get yo' caps peeled, you know
Jason Clark
When the shadow of the sash appeared on the curtains it was between seven and eight o' clock and then I was in time again,hearing the watch. It was Grandfather's and when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it's rather excruciatingly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's. I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools.
Kevin Rodriguez
Grab your Glocks when you see Tupac Call the cops when you see Tupac Who shot me? But you punks didn't finish Now you bout to feel the wrath of a menace Nigga I hit 'em up
Parker Wilson
are u memeing me or did u actually know the line? like do u think 'now is the winter of our discontent' is a complete thought?
Jonathan Harris
hint on the hamlet: it's not a question
Colton Bennett
'Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you going to get" Forest Gump.
Bentley Hernandez
"but that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of."
Aye, there's the rub!
Lucas Sanchez
The one thing all mankind share in common is the fear of mortality but at the same time the fear of immortality. So sure if you have money you can get a replica corpse or pig of yourself, and replicate yourself to be immortal (which is coming and active tech right now they doing it but not publishing about it), but immortality suffers the death by boredom you cease to be human, you become an AI, a computer even if you claim to be the same person you can not possibly be the same person you were 500 years ago after having acquired so much more knowledge. This infinity problem is seen in mathematics alot if anyone has ever done a degree in mathematics. We had a third year mathematics lecturer declare the proof of God by the derivation of the sign wave into digital code. Where the T's cancel, he called it, "Two ships passing in the the night". And for him this was absolute proof of God, of a creator. I think our mortality is what we should be aware of that all thy sins be remembered is true. You are being watched and you are expected to live to the standards of Christ although impossible to live to his purity as he was the only non-sinner it is the aspiration towards and continuous conscience to be towards that of the commandments and declarations of Christ. For example my favorite is where Christ says to the Jews "I have not come here to rewrite the laws of Moses but to add to them. Moses said that adultery is forbidden. I say that even if you look at a woman with lust in your mind you have committed adultery" For this I try to be conscious of, but I do need a wife and until I get one I will continue to masturbate for I believe that denying yourself so will cause you to get prostate cancer.
WHy a retard would love in a place that gets so cold it snows unless have awesome ski slopes 30 minutes drive away I don't understand, I think you a fucking retard.
Elijah Robinson
Yeh it is the question man. To be or not to be?, that is the question. And I can't write the rest of the reasons why it is the question better than HE wrote it.
Ayden Stewart
the line is: ...To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause—there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life.
declarative.
John Miller
"A way a lone a last a loved a long the.....riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay,..."
John Jones
>The Cohen brothers wrote a Tarantino flick Lol
Gavin Green
>thou art not noble. That passage was even better than the 'to be or not to be'. Intense man, that you struggle all your live to survive whilst remaining always running towards death. Like God makes a fool of us. You are born to die.
Jacob Parker
This is the way Jim Carey is talking the last two years. I wonder if anyone sending him these or if he knows Shakespeare's work? youtube.com/watch?v=klQB9GCcAw4 If anyone can get to him this work of Shakespeare. You would assume he knows it but there is so much to know in such a short time is our lives.
John Phillips
yeah but if an user painted the mona lisa thatd be pretty damn impressive
Lucas Jenkins
Jim Carey right now seems to be playing Shakespeare. Is what he is or maybe he IS Shakespeare but can't be bothered elucidating it except his fascination current with painting.
Oliver Gutierrez
...
Nolan Nguyen
I call it the Mona Lisa She Loves Me/She Loves Me Not. This is my March3 2017 patent.
Grayson Robinson
You little fucktards at Google, I will abandon you one day and then you will never where I am. Watch your mouth smartass idiot. You should be fired. Seen your colours now.
Noah Powell
You kikes never know when your asses are hanging out, that is why you always get pogrommed. 2000 years of 'persecution'. and we wonder why?
Xavier Wright
Is this not the word of God?
"Be absolute for death; either death or life Shall thereby be the sweeter. Reason thus with life: If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing That none but fools would keep: a breath thou art,"
Do not fear death. Be God's instrument of life on earth and never fear any murderer who could take this instrument from you. You are immortal but you think you will die? No. You are immortal. For all my sins be remembered.
