How does the speech "To be or not to be..." affect our understanding of Hamlet's character and his role(s) in the play as a whole?
In this speech we see the core of Hamlet's problem; we see clearly that he is a man who has come to understand himself. He has finally understood that his real problem is his incapacity to act in a decisive manner. The soliloquy concludes with this understanding. His role in the revenge tragedy had been to slay Claudius for the murder of his father. Hamlet has so far failed to do this and this famous soliloquy is concerned with two things: firstly, Hamlet's desire for death, and his own aversion to decisive action.
At the start of the play Hamlet is revealed as a despondent, suicidal character. …
