The decision "to be or not to be" and the alternating seduction and repulsion of suicide is still relevant in our modern society, reflected in contemporary Beyond Blue campaigns. The famed "to be or not to be" soliloquy, although relating to Hamlet's inner conflict, foreshadows the Gravediggers' profound discussion of Ophelia's sin of "self slaughter". Despite the fact Ophelia "drowned herself wittingly", she is nonetheless given a "Christian burial that willingly seeks her own salvation" since she is a "gentlewoman". Upon first reading, Hamlet's soliloquies provided me with the insight into Hamlet's religious and social milieu. Mi Zhou articulates how Hamlet is an "exploration of fundamental human questions", which has expanded my study of Hamlet from a religious and social criticism, to a psychoanalytical and philosophical medium which responders can relate to. .
As Shakespeare's most philosophical character, Hamlet is used as a medium to explore the fundamental questions which the Elizabethan audience and the modern day audience continue to ponder. Hamlet's various plans educe a sense of intelligence, with Hamlet confiding in his trustworthy companion, Horatio, that he will "put an antic disposition on" and it is through Horatio, as a sounding board for Hamlet, that the audience is revealed of Hamlet's plans to avenge his father. However, Hamlet vacillates in the play, exuding a sense of uncertainty shown in his encounter with the ghost of Old Hamlet. Hamlet first proclaims he will "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" and "sweep to my revenge". However, it is later juxtaposed with the doubt he exhibits, "the spirit I have seen may be the devil." While various interpretations deem Hamlet morally ambivalent, Robert Ornstein's The Moral Vision of Jacobean Tragedy, provides a different perspective, articulating how Hamlet "is the voice of ethical sensibility" .
