it seems would rather bemoan his troubles than solve them. He goes on and on about his crappy life but rarely, if ever, even tries to do anything about it. Even in his desire for death he will speak but not act. He has wished for ceath at least ten times during the play, but when it comes right down to it Hamlet is to scared to act on his desire. He doesn't decide against suicide because of some noble realization (that life is far to precious to be wasted for example), he is just too scared of the afterlife. Hamlet, in the play up to this point, claims to be in dire straits but his paralyzing fear keeps him from action. He would rather suffer with his situation for fear that his actions to make it better would make it worse: "And makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of"(3.1.82-83). Hamlet's motivation for wanting to die and also for remaining alive gives some of the best insight into his personality. In this speech Hamlet elects not to kill himself and discovers why he has not yet done it. Hamlet is a very seriously disturbed, depressed guy. He says clearly that he is in great pain but more than that he is weary of his life and that is why he wants to die. He has grown tired of the day to day struggle to survive and that, not his problems themselves is why he desires death. His reason for choosing life over death is also shown here. He is too afraid of the unknown, of the "undiscovered country" (3.1.80) to act on his desire. Perhaps this second reason is a result of the first? It is not so much that he is afraid to act, just that he has become so despondant that he doesn't really care enough to do anything. This speech, especially the reasons it defines for his desires and actions, shows us what goes on inside Hamlet's head. It shows us why he wants to die and also why he chooses to remain alive. The process behind these desires defines Hamlet and allows us to make generalizations about his moti...
