Question

Hamlet: 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.

Which of these adaptations of the excerpt is most likely to portray Hamlet as worried and thoughtful?

The actor playing Hamlet shouts his lines to the audience while wildly gesturing with his hands.
The actor playing Hamlet speaks slowly and deliberately, weighing the meaning of every word as he goes along.
The actor playing Hamlet cries to himself as he tearfully speaks the lines to himself.
The actor playing Hamlet sings the lines, adding an impromptu melody to the soliloquy.

Answer 1

The actor who speaks slowly and deliberately, weighing the meaning of every word as he goes along.

Reason: a slow, measured delivery conveys inward reflection and careful deliberation—the contemplative, worried tone of Hamlet’s soliloquy—whereas shouting, crying, or singing suggest agitation, overt emotion, or a different mood.