GRAND PRIZE WINNER:

Kelsey C.
Falmouth, ME
School: Falmouth High School

Why is it that some of the most simple questions are often the most difficult to answer? The title character of Shakespeare's Hamlet finds himself in an ever-present battle of reason versus action. This incessant questioning is born of Hamlet's mourning, not just for his father's death, but for his loss of idealism.

In the opening of the play, we find Hamlet criticizing the world as an "unweeded garden" where all things "rank and gross in nature" (I, ii, 135-6) grow. However, we have reason to believe Hamlet's perspective has not always been this way; two months prior he may have found himself admiring the beautiful flowers rather than complaining of the weeds which grow beneath them. While away at school in Wittenberg, Hamlet had his life laid out ahead of him. He was heir to the Denmark throne, and living on a sumptuous and straight path. However, with the unforeseen event of his father's murder, Hamlet's future is drastically changed. The crown he once thought to be rightly his is given to his uncle, the murderer of Hamlet's father. His beloved mother seems absent of all grief, remarrying merely two months after her husband's death. Hamlet's clear future disintegrates into uncertainty.

Therefore it is justified that Hamlet's recent need to question the world he was once sure of would lead him to ponder one of life's most simple yet complicated questions.

His soliloquy commences with a simple, straightforward line: "To be, or not to be." In actuality, the concreteness of the diction reveals an incredibly complex idea. By employing the most basic English verb, Shakespeare introduces the most abstract concept; rather than merely debating suicide, the soliloquy questions existence itself. Syntactically, "to be or not to be" is a detached, impersonal verb matched with its opposite. Conceptually, the question is impossible to fully grasp. The harsh contrast of diction and idea initiate Hamlet's thoughts on the choice of death or life.

In contrast to this deliberately blunt assertion, Shakespeare produces a flood of images. Deep within the words lies a struggle that is demonstrated by the stark juxtaposition of syntax and imagery which reveal the true character of Hamlet. While Hamlet ponders the "slings and arrows" of fortune, a "sea of troubles," and the "thousand natural shocks" a human is prone to, he wrestles with comprehending the idea of death. The rush of imagery becomes moral confusion: a conflict of whether it is cowardly to run from one's problems by means of suicide. This contemplation mirrors Hamlet's current character, for his philosophical and reflective attributes often prove to be an obstacle between himself and taking action. Also typical of Hamlet's behavior since his father's unexpected death, the soliloquy shows his tendency to weigh different perspectives and prolong inevitable action. At first, Hamlet uses the diction of "die" and "sleep" interchangeably, revealing the positive views of death—sleeping to end the trials of life. However, Hamlet contradicts this belief by later providing the metaphor of "the undiscovered county," exposing his reservations about the uncertainty of the afterlife. The structure of the soliloquy itself, with its back-and-forth contradictions, demonstrates Hamlet's difficulty with putting his intentions into action.

Hamlet's conflict of reason versus action appears frequently throughout the play. When his open opportunity to kill Claudius presents itself, Hamlet contemplates the situation past the point where action is feasible. In the single event where Hamlet goes against his status quo behavior and acts on impulse, his fault lies in his inability to think through his action at all. Hamlet stands on either one side of the spectrum or the opposite extreme: contemplating the situation until rationalizing an excuse, or acting rashly without any justification. In the sole case of paralleling thought and action, Hamlet commits the fault of accidentally killing Polonius, leaving him at a point of no return and merely underlining his flaws. In addition, Hamlet's intense envy of Fortinbras, a foil to himself, is marked by the harsh distinction that Fortinbras is able to lead his army without hesitation, whereas Hamlet seems unable to do as he intends. Fortinbras embodies the character which Hamlet hopes to emulate: strong-willed, successful, and certain. Through the character of Fortinbras, we see a shadow of what Hamlet had the potential to become.

For Hamlet, reality is uncertainty. When he is thrust into a world in which the future is not guaranteed, everything is questioned. However, hardly anything is solved. Tragedy creates a ripple effect of blind action. Conclusions we may not contemplate when thinking rationally suddenly seem the sole device of escape in the shadow of an unforeseen incident. As Shakespeare's title character tells his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, "For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so" (II, ii, 256).

FIRST PRIZE WINNERS:

Sam M.
Goshen, IN
School: Goshen High School

The Center Cannot Hold: 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" (III, I, 64-68). So begins what is perhaps the most well-known soliloquy in the history of literature. It is spoken by Prince Hamlet, who just days before had learned that his father's death and the hasty marriage of his mother to his uncle, Claudius, was not merely bad luck but was engineered by his uncle to usurp both the throne and the queen. He is told this by none other than his father's ghost, who returned from death to commission Hamlet to avenge him. Though Hamlet is disgusted by his uncle's murderous and incestuous behavior, he is not instinctively compelled to vengeance. He delays this task for days, unwilling to finalize a murder, and eventually comes to contemplating suicide as a means to avoid a final decision. In the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet deconstructs his various options, and ultimately undermines the possibility of reasoning himself to a solution.

The speech begins with an association of two dualities: existence/non-existence and activity/passivity. By the order of his phrase, however, Hamlet aligns existence with passivity and non-existence with action, framing the former as a calm submission to life and the later as a violent protest against it. This is telling; it shows that Hamlet feels powerless, and views his capacity in life as a passive one. The play up to this point seems to lay out his options as active opposition of his troubles through revenge of Claudius, or as a passive continuation of his silent suffering. Hamlet does not se it this way; he realizes that he must either obey his dead father, or obey Claudius' rotten regime.

Both outcomes of this seeming choice between activity and passivity involve a subjugation of Hamlet's will. Hamlet does not in this case see Claudius and Old Hamlet as polar opposites; rather than thinking of them as a good king and a bad king he reveals a more basic reality, that both Old Hamlet and Claudius are domineering kings intent on bending others to their own purposes. It is significant that three of the seven abuses Hamlet lists in this speech are "th' oppressor's wrong," "the law's delay," and "the insolence of office" (III, I, 79-81), all examples of mistreatment by authority. He feels completely at the mercy of those in power, both past and present, and any course he chooses in life will be a passive obedience to them. To him, the only way he can act on his own, truly opposing his "sea of troubles" (III, I, 67), would be to take his own life, removing himself from the reaches of both Claudius and Old Hamlet.

As he cannot be free in life, Hamlet inquires as to whether he could be free in death. He begins by comparing death to the most death-like thing he has experienced, namely sleep. Sleep, however, is still an experience had while living, and Hamlet immediately hits upon the most life-like quality of sleep: dreams. If one dreams in sleep, he reasons, why not in death? By making this comparison, he begins to subvert the sharp distinction between life and death. He continues by wondering about the nature of these death dreams. He claims that there is at least the possibility that they will be worse than life, or else many people would kill themselves to avoid the suffering inherent in life.

The reason most people refrain from suicide when suffering, however, is not for "dread of something after death" (III, I, 86), but for hope that their life will become better. That Hamlet ignores this shows that he does not believe in the possibility of a happy future; in his understanding, the essence of life is suffering. But if the essence of life is suffering, and there is at least a possibility that death will contain more suffering than life, it follows that death might not be the opposite of life, but may in fact be a purer version of it, one more saturated in its essence. Hamlet undermines the original premise of his soliloquy, whether "to be or not to be," by asserting that being and not being could, in fact, be the exact same thing.

Through this line of reasoning, Hamlet removes all his possible options; he is left no self-determination in life, and is given no alternative in death. Hamlet's main problem is not that he thinks so much that he never reaches a decision, but that he thinks so incisively that he deconstructs the opposition of his choices, rendering appraisal of their relative merits valueless. He realizes this about himself, stating that this "pale cast of thought" has distorted his "native hue of resolution" (III, i, 92-93). But this "pale cast of thought" has not distorted his native self. It is his native self. The tragedy of Hamlet is the struggle of a man who is so self-aware that he realizes the pointlessness of action, but is forced to betray his own nature by a supernatural commission demanding it.

And so Hamlet ends up exactly where he started, unable to choose a course of action, only better off for knowing that there was never a choice to begin with. Even after he makes this speech, he does not take its conclusions to heart, vainly struggling to shape his fate for most of the play. It is only after he returns from England that Hamlet reaches the logical conclusion of the "to be or not to be" soliloquy: "If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows, what is't to leave betimes? Let be" (V, ii, 234-238).

Anna P.
Leesport, PA
School: Schuylkill Valley High School

As daughters of highly influential men in Venetian society, Jessica and Desdemona each struggle to gain their desired lifestyles. Their fathers are narrow-minded and believe they should have the right to choose their daughters' destinies. Jessica and Desdemona, as strong, independent women, go against their fathers' wills, marrying men without consent. Shakespeare's powerful daughter figures in Othello and The Merchant of Venice show striking similarities when both rebel traditional values in the name of love; however, religious circumstances of the time period as compared to racial differences, present the women as foils of each other's sacrifice.

In Othello, Desdemona's father, Brabantio, demonstrates utter hypocrisy which forces his daughter to leave his household. Desdemona falls in love with the Moor Othello, a widely-respected general. Brabantio befriends Othello, unaware of his daughter's feelings for Othello. However, Desdemona is willing to give everything she has in order to be with Othello:
      I saw Othello's visage in his mind,
      And to his honors and his valiant parts
      Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.(I.iii.247-9)
Although Brabantio trusts Othello and holds him in high reverence, Brabantio cannot look past the color of his skin. Brabantio assumes that his daughter is also racist and believes there is no possible way that she could have fallen in love with the Moor:
      To fall in love with what she feared to look on?
      It is a judgment maimed and most imperfect
      That will confess perfection so could err.(I.ii.101-3)
The thought of Desdemona marrying a black man seems completely preposterous to Brabantio. Desdemona, overcome with anger, marries Othello without her father's blessing.

Growing up with Jewish traditions, The Merchant of Venice's Jessica wants to escape from her father. Shylock has a horrible reputation, as would be expected from any Jewish character in an Elizabethan play. Jessica's desire to marry the Christian, Lorenzo shows her absolute devotion to him. This desire is incomprehensible to Shylock, who will only give his blessing to his daughter if the man she marries is Jewish. Shylock uses stern words when speaking to his daughter:
      Do as I bid you. Shut doors after you.
      Fast bind, fast find.
      A proverb never stale in thrifty mind.(II.v.51-3)
Although Shakespeare only includes glimpses of dialogue between Jessica and her father, Shylock's relationship with his daughter is assumedly distanced and cold.

Brabantio allows a racial difference in the man his daughter pursues to interfere with the personality of the man. In this same manner, Shylock judges Jessica's love interest by his religious background. Each young woman experiences a struggle between family values and love. The girls are forced to choose between their fathers and having an enjoyable adult life. Having a poor relationship with each of their fathers, Desdemona and Jessica are shown comparatively and both run away from their tyrannical fathers. When Desdemona flees from her father, Brabantio becomes enraged, as shown in the first scene of Act I:
      It is too true an evil: gone she is;
      And what's to come of my despisèd time
      Is naught but bitterness.(159-61)
Brabantio is arguably not so much upset over his daughter's disappearance, but rather that she has left with Othello. Upon hearing about his daughter, Brabantio appears to be frantic and concerned. However, Brabantio shows more anger over the situation than nervousness for his daughter's safety.
Similarly, Shylock responds to the news of Jessica's disappearance with anger. When Jessica leaves to marry Lorenzo, she promises to provide him with a dowry. In order to fulfill this promise, she decides to take a large sum of money from her father. When Shylock finds out that Jessica has left his house in the beginning of Act III, he is outraged:
      I would my daughter were dead at my foot and the
      jewels in her ear! Would she were hearsed at my foot and
      the ducats in her coffin! No news of them? Why, so. And
      I know not what's spent in the search. Why thou, loss
      upon loss! The thief gone with so much, and so much to find the
      thief—and no satisfaction, no revenge.(i.75-80)
In keeping with the negative stereotype, it seems as though Shylock is more concerned with his missing money than his missing daughter. He refers to Jessica as a "thief," and wishes he could see her dead in a coffin, provided the ducats were also there.

The true measure of what the women must give up is then revealed in their fathers' behavior. Not only does Shylock speak of Jessica's death, but Brabantio also wishes Desdemona dead:
      BRABANTIO. My daughter! Oh, my daughter!
      ALL. Dead?
      BRABANTIO. Ay, to me. (I.iii.62-4)
The relationship between a father and daughter can be difficult at times, but many would agree it should never reach this level. A father wishing his daughter dead is contrary to the natural parent/child relationship. Possessing great strength and courage, Desdemona and Jessica successfully escape from their domineering fathers.
Although the women's stories share many similarities, the endings cannot be overlooked. Desdemona suffers a painful death at the end of Othello, whereas Jessica lives out her life happily with Lorenzo. In this way Jessica acts as a foil to Desdemona because Jessica's sacrifice holds less severity and consequence. The audience for whom the play was written would have seen Shylock as an evil character because of his religious background. Jessica escaping from her Jewish father would have seemed heroic in a predominantly Christian Venice; therefore, Jessica would have been accepted by society after leaving her father. Desdemona, on the other hand, would have been rejected by society because of her interracial marriage. Jessica's sacrifice heightens the intensity of Desdemona's decision, creating a foil between the characters.

Works Cited:
Shakespeare, William. The Oxford Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Jay L. Halio. 3rd ed. Oxford UP, 1998.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello, Moor of Venice. World Library Inc., 1997.