Paper Summary:

This paper compares the use of rhetoric in two of William Shakespeare's most famous soliloquies: The "To be or not to be..." speech in "Hamlet" and the "St. Crispins" speech in "Henry V". The goal of the paper is to compare the sincerity in each given the character speaking and the context in which the soliloquy is delivered. Hamlet is contemplating suicide. King Henry is trying to motivate his outnumbered army.

From the Paper:

"Although a read of Shakespeare's "To be..." speech from Hamlet and a read of his "St. Crispins" speech from Henry V show similarities in the use of rhetoric, an examination of the context of each speech hints at more sincerity in the former than in the latter. This is not to say that young Hamlet doesn't show his own share of deception throughout the play; however, in this particular speech, he is wrestling with all that he has had to endure with the death of his father and the implication of his uncle and mother in the crime. Often referred to as the most famous speech in English literature, Hamlet's "To Be..." speech is an internal exploration of the dilemma he finds himself in the midst of the mystery of his father's death."

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