When Hamlet says the famous line "To be, or not to be, that is the question..." (Shakespeare, 1599/2007, Act 3, sc. 1, line 56), he is not mad. He is in a state of deep agony, depression, and clear philosophical thought. This is proven by how he suddenly becomes calm and gentle when he sees Ophelia and says, "Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd" (Shakespeare, 1599/2007, Act 3, sc. 1, lines 87-88). A truly mad man could not shift so quickly from philosophy to courtesy.
1. Stripped of Honor, Love, and Justice
Hamlet narrates his realization of life's truths as he evaluates everything happening to him and around him. He experiences embarrassment, insolence, abuse, and mistreatment from King Claudius and his own mother, Gertrude (Shakespeare, 1599/2007).
He feels stripped of his honor because his mother married Claudius, his uncle, only weeks after his father's death. This pain is intensified when Ophelia, the woman he loves, is ordered by her father Polonius to stop seeing him (Shakespeare, 1599/2007, Act 1, sc. 3). He is deprived of respect and love from the two women he trusted most.
Through these experiences, Hamlet also comprehends the inefficiency of the legal system. His father's murder has not been given justice. The king who killed his father now sits on the throne. At the same time, he feels the grief of an unreciprocated love as Ophelia declines to see him (Shakespeare, 1599/2007, Act 3, sc. 1).
Hence, he perceives life's insignificance and considers killing himself to put an end to all his troubles.
2. Why He Chooses to Live: The Fear of What Comes After Death
But as he ponders suicide, Hamlet realizes the central problem: nobody can tell what will happen after death. He calls death "The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns" (Shakespeare, 1599/2007, Act 3, sc. 1, lines 79-80).
He argues that it is this fear of the unknown after death that makes people choose to suffer on earth rather than end their lives. People would rather bear "The whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay" (Shakespeare, 1599/2007, Act 3, sc. 1, lines 70-72) than go to a place they know nothing about.
He believes it is the fear of death that prevents a person from telling the truth and confronting situations that bring hardship in life.
3. From Self-Pity to Purpose
As Hamlet synthesizes these circumstances, he discovers his own weaknesses and failures. He begins to give his uncle, his mother, Ophelia, and Polonius treatment that is unexpected of a prince (Shakespeare, 1599/2007).
Hamlet's self-realization makes him relate to other people's sufferings and identify himself as one of those deprived of rights, love, and honor. This is why he tells Ophelia to "Get thee to a nunnery" (Shakespeare, 1599/2007, Act 3, sc. 1, line 121) — not out of cruelty, but because he believes she would be safer away from the corrupt court of Elsinore.
In the end, this painful reflection does not lead him to suicide. It leads him to action. He decides to live and pursue avenging his father's death.
References
Shakespeare, W. (2007). Hamlet (B. A. Mowat & P. Werstine, Eds.). Folger Shakespeare Library. (Original work published 1599)
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