“There is
special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
If it be now, ‘tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if
it be not now, yet it will come. The
readiness is all. Since no man has aught
of what he leaves, what is’t to leave betimes? Let be. (Shakespeare, “Hamlet” 116).
With these
lines, it seems Hamlet resigns himself, at last, to his fate. For the near entirety of the play, he has
debated whether to take his own life or pursue vengeance through the murder of
his uncle. His inability to decide has
allowed him to suffer further grief. The
accumulated pain seems to have driven him mad, and eventually weary with
sorrow.
Branagh’s
delivery of the lines is perfect. His quiet acquiescence to the will of God is
apparent in his gentle tone and tearful eyes.
The statement
itself speaks great wisdom. Humans have
little control concerning the time in which they leave mortality. Only one thing is certain: the departure will
come. Rather than fret about the timing,
we should live so that we are prepared for eternity, whenever mortality
ends.