(a) Name the poem and the poet. (b) Which are the two choices that Hamlet can make?

Question

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.

(a) Name the poem and the poet.

(b) Which are the two choices that Hamlet can make?

(c) What does the phrase 'outrageous fortune' mean?

(d) Mention and explain the poetic device used in the above lines.

Answer 1

(a) Hamlet'* Dilemma by William Shakespeare

(b) Hamlet can choose to exist in shame or ***** back in rage and triumph over the indignities that he suffers.

(c) cruel barbaric circumstances/arbitrary fate

(d) Metaphor: Unfortunate events that can occur to a person are compared to slings and arrows/b) "a sea of troubles",Metaphor: the many troubles that a person might suffer from are compared to a sea.