So this was for Lauer’s AP Literature class. We had to write our own “To be, or not to be?” speech. I didn’t finish mine, so I never turned it in. It was when school was over and I found the unfinished piece in my computer when I decided to finish it. :9 My goal was to try and keep the pace as close to the original as possible.
Can you guess the meaning?
CATHLEEN
To ask, or not to ask? That is the question—
Whether ’tis greater to courageously stand
And act with passion released from mental state,
Or to continue silencing one’s own self,
And, keep feelings locked inside? To lock, to free—
No more—and by releasing free we end
The heartache and the thousand desires
That one can hold on—’tis an accomplishment
Devoutly to achieve! To free, to loosen.
To loosen, perchance to relax—ay, there’s the plan,
Telling releases stress, what new will come
When the truth is out and rejection comes,
Must give us pause. There’s the great fear
That makes undone business of so long life.
For who would bear the laughs and smiles of them,
They don’t understand, the passion behind
The affection of love, the long delay,
The disrespect of others, and the will
That I have to ask, confessing my thoughts,
When you yourself might you tip toe away
With embarrassment? Who would want to bear,
With living without asking this question,
But those that want to hide their true feelings,
And keep the undiscovered affection
Only to himself, puzzling others
And makes us think that we should not confess
Than showing true affection over time.
Thus conscience makes us all fear confessions,
And thus true feelings are never revealed
To the ones we want to know, and never
Will the question be asked and ever answered.
With this regard, I turn my head from thee,
And smile, hiding my love.
