“Why Shakespeare once said, “A coward dies a thousand deaths, a hero only one.” Why would this be?

Answer 1

A hero never shies away from responsibility, always tackling what needs to be achieved head-on. He is fearless. When he dies he has no regrets and has always tried his hardest.
A coward shies away from responsibility and avoids/runs away from what needs to be achieved. In doing so, each time, he dies (spiritually at least). His life is one of fear and regret.

That's my take on it at least. Hope that helps....

Answer 2

I am not going to repeat what others have said in answer to this question, because it is rather obvious. However, the question does present a paradox. I have always thought that a coward needs more courage to live his life than a natural hero. The coward will find it much harder to get through life.

The reason is, that the terms 'hero' and 'coward' present their own problem. The word 'coward' may be used inappropriately to describe someone who has been brought up without love and affection, or, no male role model. Such a person will be very insecure. Equally, a 'hero' may have experienced none of these problems, or, they may not be very smart, so they take risks without understanding the consequences. In which case they are better described as 'headstrong'. In essence, they have not earned, nor deserve, the description of coward or hero.

Answer 3

i dont quite like the analogy, cause i think its the other way around.

A hero dies a thousand deaths, a coward only one.

Why do i dare to defy Shakespeare's logic? Cause I have a logic of my own...read on if you DARE.

Well, i often feel, when a loved one dies, or when i go through intense pain and suffering, i feel like a little part or even a great part of me, dies too. Ultimately, all these deaths, these tears, these lives i've lived (as Daniel Bedingfield so aptly says in his song "Can you see")... these deaths, strengthen me, and i feel, makes me closer to being a hero.
A coward doesnt acknowledge these emotions, either through too much testosterone, or a lack of sensitivity, or whatever really (that you can think of) and this person runs away from it until his/her natural life ends, and the person has only died, and ultimately, LIVED once.
an old saying is "a cat has nine lives"...does it make it more special, or less? its just a saying, but with an allegorical meaning symbolizing its speciality, it has to die to give way to a 2nd life, would that make the cat a coward? i'd say symbolically speaking, it makes it a hero.

Answer 4

A coward dies a thousand deaths:
Ever heard of the phrase "scared to death"? well a coward dies often in his mind... he is a coward because let's fear stop him, each time something happens giving him the chance to be brave he only sees his death... he dies a thousand deaths(in his mind).

A hero dies only once... a physical death.

I read all the other answers up to this point, and I'm always surprised at how many equal fear with cowardice, and heroism with no fear... Being a hero or being brave doesn't mean you're not afraid... it's not letting fear control you or stop you from acting that makes you brave or heroic.

Best wishes

Answer 5

I believe that Shakespeare meant that the coward is the actual hero because although he is frightened he still does, a thousand times, what it is which frightens him. The hero doesn't appear to know fear and dies doing whatever (soldier, spy etc) and never knew what hit him and therefore dies but once. Shakespeare was a very devious poet and ensured that you had to read and re-read his works to understand their actual meaning.

You need to sit through a play at Stratford on Avon theatre to really get to grips with his work, as interpreted by the actors, and then sit through it again. Unfortunately it is far too expensive now to do this at Stratford. (Unless you are a Japanese or American Tourist - the Town's full of them). You will just have to read the plays and form your own conclusions as to his meanings.

Answer 6

Well, a hero doesn't hesitate, goes out and does the job, and either dies deader than a doornail, or lives to go out and do the job again. No hesitation, no regret.

A coward stops, rationalizes, dies of embarrassment yet lives to repeat the whole thing at the next challenge. He's not really dead, but he dies a thousand little deaths each time he realizes that he is not up to the job.

Answer 7

I think he means that the coward lives his whole life terrified of dying as if he dies every day. The Hero has no worries about fear and lives each day to the full and then suddenly dies.

Answer 8

A hero may well be afraid but he/she confronts their fear and perseveres, whereas a coward allows fears to dissuade them from the appropriate course of action. The hero may die as a result of their action or indeed they may live to a ripe old age and die in the knowledge that they faced up to their fears whereas the coward kills them self (metaphorically speaking) each time they think of the action they didn't take...you can lie to the world but not yourself.

Answer 9

It isn't the other way around and I hate to tell you but you completely missed the point. A hero dies but once, meaning that if you tackle a challenge then you either succeed or fail but you don't regret... if you fail to tackle the challenge you will never know the outcome and you will run that over and over in your mind... a thousand times.

Answer 10

A coward priorly has no self-confidence on him; hence he have to feel guilty or shy or anything instead of rightly get into the job to achieve a goal. Every time when he step backs from his job, he kills his originality and in turns it refers to kill himself. Therefore, he have many deaths then and there mentally, soully.

But a hero who has boldness enough to expose his ideas has enormous energy of self-confidence never behaves as a coward. He has only one death that is of only physical.

Answer 11

A coward person can not challange any inappropriate and behaviour or act of other people. So, he or she may be acting like a dead many times while being alive physically. But a brave person can fight for unjustice and he or she dies only once. Nothing can kill them except their own death.