Can someone translate Shakespeare?

Question

I need these translated into modern english but I don't really understand Shakespeare here are the quotes:
'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 heartache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to---'
'Tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished.'

'To die to sleep--to sleep perchance to dream. Ay, theres the rub For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause.'

'Theres the respect that makes calamity of so long life'

'For who would bear the whips and scorns of time'

'The oppressors wrng the proud mans contumely the pangs of despised lve, The laws delay, The insolence Office'

Answer 1

Hamlet is indecisive, quite the hesitant prince not knowing his best course of action, or even when to start doing it.

His life is upside down, with his father dead, by the hand of his new step-father; his mother now married to this man who lusts after power at any price, and Prince Hamlet feeling threatened (no wonder).

He now asks himself, what should he do? Is it wise to do nothing at all, or to take a stand against outrageous human behaviour, and by doing so, will right overcome might? He considers best case/worst case scenarios in order to weigh his decision. He wonders if death is all that bad vs. a life of not standing up for himself and what he believes is righteous....

~Yet still~ unconvinced, he carries it even further as he struggles with all potential outcomes, further proving his insecurity and indecisiveness. His internal dialogues serve to show a young man who is shocked by some harsh realities, and tormented by the self-doubt which accompanies his youth and inexperience.

It could be that Prince Hamlet is not the stuff that kings are made of, and his character flaws serve to support the plot. Action speaks louder than words.

Let me know how the story ends....

Answer 2

'Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer...the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.' Luck and good fortune only can last so long before we start to resent them, and have to endure them because we're sick of them. Basically, we want everything out of life...not just the good.

'To die to sleep no more...and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to...tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.' Everyone must die, and if you have endured a life of spiritual, physical, and mental abuses, you will embrace death.

''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." Shakespeare is simply wondering what life after death will be like, and if we will be in a conscious state of mind.

'There's the respect that makes calamity of so long life.' Sometimes people will respect death; other times they will envy those who die...whether you have lived a good life or a corrupted one, you will regret the person's death...whether it's for your own selfish needs, or you truly miss them.

'For wo would bear the whips and scorns of time?' Time can make beasts of mankind, but it can make angels of them...it just depends on your endurance.

'The oppressors wrong the proud man's contumely the pangs of despised Ive, the laws delay, the insolence Office.' No one can bear too much...everyone has their weak spots.

Answer 3

The first two belong together, and pretty much mean, "Should I put up with the situation as it is, or should I try to do something about it and perhaps change it?"

"Would I be better off dead? If I were, I'd be beyond all my problems."

"But if I were dead, what then? If death is like sleep, what nightmares might I have--nightmares from which I couldn't awake?"

I think Shakespeare was being sarcastic here, because it doesn't sound as if the elderly person is getting very much in the way of respect.

"Who would want to live to grow old?"

I'm not sure of the last one--are the misspelled words wrng and lve "wrong" (or "wring?") and "love" (or "life?")

Hope this was some help.

Answer 4

If Iam not mistaken these lines are from the play hamlet these lines tell us that what is going on in the mind of Prince Hamlet.
Hamlet is debating if it is of a good quality to suffer the tranquil of a good fate.

Answer 5

Go to Sparknotes.com, click on No Fear Shakespeare. Type in the name of the play and find the lines you want and you're set. Perfect for those without enough patience to tackel the Great Shake on his own.