In what state was Hamlet when he said...

“To be or not to be, that is the question…”?

Hamlet is in agony and madness is not felt as he laments of it. This is proven by how he reacts to Ophelia’s presence and says “Soft you now, the fair Ophelia! –

Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered” (Act III, scene I).

 He narrates his realization of life’s truths as he evaluates the events which have been happening to the people around him and himself, events which bring troubles and struggles to him as an individual.  He experiences embarrassment, insolence, abuse and mistreatment by the King and his mother.  He feels that he is stripped of his honor as his mother married with Claudius soon after his father’s death and this has been intensified as Ophelia quits seeing and loving him. He is deprived of respect and love. Hence, he perceives life’s insignificance. Through his experiences he is made to comprehend the inefficiency of the legal system as his father’s death is not given justice and made to feel the grief of an unreciprocated love as Ophelia declined to see and love him (Act III, scene I).  Hence, he considers killing himself to put an end to all of his troubles. But as he ponders on the act he realizes that nobody can tell what will happen after one has died which he thinks is true to every person. Thus, instead of dying, people choose to live and bear the difficulties on earth (www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet). Also, he is made to believe that it is fear of death that prevents a person from telling the truth and dealing with people or situations that bring one hardship in life. As Hamlet synthesizes on circumstances in his life, he discovers his weaknesses and failures. And as he goes on with life, he gives his uncle, mother, Ophelia and the lady’s father the kind of treatment which unexpected of him. Hamlet’s self-realization makes him relate with other people’s sufferings and identify himself as one of those who are deprived of rights, love and honor. Hence, he persuades Ophelia to get to the convent and pursues on avenging his father’s death.

Reference :

Clark, W.G. and Wright, W. Aldis. Ed. The complete  works of William Shakespeare: all the

           plays, all the poems. New York: Nelson Doubleday, Inc., 1853.

www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet