To be or not to be

"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."




Yes, we are all very familiar with Hamlet's famous soliloquy. The opening lines have surely been quoted by everyone and anyone, at least once in any situation, which lief has thrown to us. Little did I realise the power of 'the prince's declaration,' when I was memorizing this particular speech for a school examination. And now after all these years, maybe it has become a bit too clear.



  Hamlet is the Prince, who could have fitted in the real world, if he ever escaped from the pages of fiction. I have not been a student of Literature per se, but somehow the Prince of Denmark has always been close to my heart. He is not the quintessential knight in shinning armour, he is nowhere close to being perfect. It is his imperfection, which makes him more real. His procrastination, his inability to act on his own decisions, make him a character in flesh and blood. He is criticised for having a subtle Oedipus complex, but the mind wishes to write off that aspect of his character. He is not the tall, dark and handsome man, swooning over his lady love, yet he does not fail to strike a chord in the heart.


After reading seemingly chick-literature, in our teenage years often we have an ideal man in our minds. Yet often in real life its the imperfection in our men, which attracts us more to them. So smiliar to Hamlet in a way. Its the subtleties at times, which make them more real. When a man truly apologizes for his mistakes, the real feelings in his eyes, are more convincing of the bond between us, than maybe a dozen so called picture perfect romantic dates.Reality is so close to fiction at times. Prince Hamlet is embodied every day in our men. We lament about Hamlet, but do we appreciate the human factor in our men on a daily basis. We just keep expecting more and more perfection from them.   


Its not that Hamlet does not feel for his lady love, Ophelia. But he is too perturbed by the murder of his own father by his uncle, who has since then, usurped the throne of Denmark and the Queen. He sets his own feelings aside, but hesitates to act on what he feels right. He shuns her to a convent, yet on her funeral, claims that he loved her more than a few thousand brothers could have ever loved her. Maybe its the incompleteness  of this lovestory, which attracts the reader all the more to the prince. Hamlet and Ophelia are not an iconic couple, like Troillus-Cressida, or Romeo- Juliet. But the way, Hamlet storms into Ophelia's chamber oneday in a lunatic stupr almost, or the way Queen Getrude laments at Ophelia's death, proves the bond between the Prince and his muse.


Cutting back to my own life, I regretted a few decisions of my life, often when things went awry.I think this is a practice which all of us have indulged in. But now often, when I sit back and reflect, I feel that maybe its those wrong decisions in my life, which made me realise what right is. I was shunned by a few, I shunned a few, and all that made  me understand what acceptance is all about. Maybe a few incomplete love stories, or maybe a few lovestories which could have happend, and which I did not let happen, made the final love story much more authentic.   


Coming back to "To Be or Not to Be," the statement which has universally influenced multitudes, and continues to do so. What is that attracts us to this statement? Is it the Prince of Denmark's idea of revenge, is it his incapability to initiate action, is it his weakness, or is it his strength? 


I guess, its that moment of weakness, which we all have felt sometime in our lives, which makes u relate more to the seemingly sulking young Prince Hamlet. 


So is Fiction Stranger Than Truth, or is Truth Stranger than Fiction?!! Maybe we all have our own moments of weaknesses to account for that .