3rd soliloquy

·         Hamlet contemplates whether or not he should take it upon himself to act accordingly against his uncle’s crime against his own father

·         Hamlet ponders whether he should take action against his "sea of troubles" and seek revenge for his father's death or live with the pain of his father's murder

·         He also contemplates whether it is better to stay alive or commit suicide. "To die, to sleep--/No more--and by a sleep to say we end/The heartache and the thousand natural shocks/That flash is heir to--'tis a consummation/Devoutly to be wished

·         Portrays Hamlet as a sort of coward because he cannot act upon his own emotions and desires. In order to escape his heartache, he cowardly thinks about killing himself

• Line 55 - To be or not to be is an example of antithesis, a rhetorical device containing a contrast of ideas in a balanced parallel construction. The use of antithesis draws attention to the first line of the soliloquy and focuses the reader on one of the play's prominent themes.

·         Lines 59, 60, 61 - Hamlet uses metonymy, a special type of metaphor that substitutes the name of one thing with something it is closely associated with. In these examples sleep represents death.

·         Lines 57, 69 - Hamlet uses a metaphor, comparing slings and arrows and the whips and scorns of time to life's problems.

·         Lines 69-73 - Hamlet uses parallel structure, a rhetorical device comprised of phrases with like grammatical structure, to create rhythm and draw attention to life's woes.

·         Line 79 - Hamlet uses a metaphor, calling death "the undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveller returns."

·         Lines 83-84 - Suicide is referred to as "the native hue of resolution," a metaphor; the fear of death is referred to as the "pale cast of thought."

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