Paapa Essiedu's 'To Be Or Not To Be' speech in Royal Shakespeare's Hamlet 

Hands down, my favorite interpretation of the soliloquy. You hear the resonance and rage, but the doubt and the grief too. It’s as if he’s really contemplating these thoughts for the first time and voicing them. It’s the only Hamlet to make me cry.

For me personally, that is the best interpretation so far..

I'm not a huge fan of TED talks, but this is a good one.

Best ever! Better than Hiddleston, better than Branagh. Paapa should receive the Red Book for this soliloquy alone! Exactly the right amount of youth and confusion and doubt and rhythm. Exquisite!!!!

I like this interpretation with a set design that brings it into a contemporary experience. My goodness, did you notice the actor is weeping? And this soliloquy occurs at the beginning of the Act. (Way to set the tone. Well done.) T.S. Eliot observed of "Hamlet" that it is "the Mona Lisa of literature." It's probably the most well-known of Shakespeare's plays for the general audience. Another scholar describes Hamlet's depression and anger at what happened in his family as 'manic.' This interpretation reveals a lot about the character. It's also not distracting from the words. There's just the right amount of body movements and facial expressions. Hamlet would have been going through what we now call the five stages of grief so his emotions can be all over the place. And I guess throughout the play, they are. I can't say enough good things about this performance. I appreciate its inclusion on RU-vid.

this is the best version of the speech I've seen so far, and I think it'll be pretty hard to top it. all that emotion came out strong, even without the use of music or sound effects. This is the kind of acting that I wish was more common, because now I wont be able to look at the kind of acting I usually see and think its actually good. 😔

What a beautiful voice Essiedu has!

Nicely done. I think my students in my English classes will appreciate this version.

This is the best, he is so great in this monologue, things like this makes me really appreciate the craft of acting?

this is utterly amazing! the emotions and work put into this is truly amazing. best performance, hands down!

This is amazing. The best I have seen and heard. It has the WOW factor 💐🌟

Very VERY good. Accents and passion in all the right places.

Ah, this rocks my world. Thank you for the inspiration!

Shakespeare is finally stepping into 2022 ..... he has become friendly n speak like us. Great one!

WOW. Best version yet. I am lucky to have been able to witness siuch talented artistry. Beautiful. Bravo.

Oh that was so good! I love the emphasis placed on "is" rather than "that" in "that is the question"... Cumberbatch rendered it that way as well. Yes, I think I may have to agree with Demais - best ever! He nailed it!!

this version is PHENOMENAL I'm obsessed omg

This one and Andrew Scott’s are the best interpretations ever

Such a brilliant actor, I see this and I just saw him as Kwame in “I May Destroy You”

He neither plays nor recites, he lives in this role. I share all feelings, emotions he conveys. No literature, but life. Shakespeare would be pleased. After all, Hamlet was a guy rather than Seneca. He expressed himself rather than moralized.

Thank you very much

Wonderful 👏

I've only seen the play once, way back in (I think) 1968, Nicol Williamson played Hamlet. I don’t remember enjoying that performance greatly, I certainly wasn’t gripped by it in the same way as by this powerful, original and compelling soliloquy by Paapa Essiedu.

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? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there’s the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover’d country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action.-Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember’d.

There's a pcture of him next to the monologue in my Finnish studybook. We're talking about Shakespeare right now :)

Wow this may just be my favorite rendition of hamlets soliloquy holy shit

Mind Blowing. Wow

Amazing performance 🥰

Yep, phew, wonderful, best interpretation

This is awesome.

bravo ı feel everything thank you !

Excellent

really very osm . i liked it

He is amazing!!

fantastic

Holy shit this was awesome!

my boi paapa is talented

Holy shit that was BEAUTIFUL.

This is gorgeous!

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. To die-to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream-ay, there's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause-there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life.

They played this in my class yesterday and confused all of us 😂

🙏

Possibly the best version I've seen. But I've never sen a perfect version. Maybe it can't be done?

nice😊

This man could make a great doctor who, he has such a great presence

As far as art written in cursive goes, this is it.

👏👏👏

good af

"Death, the un-chartered and unknown land from which no man returns"

he seems drunk great actor

Very believable. Actually sounds like a distraught young man with jumbled thoughts. Disbelief suspended.

Masterpiece 🎉

2:31

Based asf

Melodramatic Africa!

You are my bae right now

kultural approposhion!

😂

it sounds like a rap. maybe Shakespeare is kind of good at rhyme. indeed lime, sweet and sour.

This has no depth and does not resonate in the imagination. It is sold on trendy casting and affectation. I do not believe him. Take the line ' slings and arrows of ' he doesn't need those words, he is just reciting it.

Papa smashed it. Great actor! why is Dull Hiddleston a star and this guy ain't? Makes no sense to me