In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, if there was to be one poetic device in the soliloquy "To Be Or Not To Be", what would it be?

Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy overflows with metaphors that have made it one of the most famous soliloquies in English literature. Hamlet uses such rich imagery to describe his state of mind that his mental state sticks with us. He describes his (bad) fortune or luck as "slings and arrows," and he imagines "troubles" as an army he can oppose. We can visualize him being struck with the rocks propelled by a...

Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy overflows with metaphors that have made it one of the most famous soliloquies in English literature. Hamlet uses such rich imagery to describe his state of mind that his mental state sticks with us. He describes his (bad) fortune or luck as "slings and arrows," and he imagines "troubles" as an army he can oppose. We can visualize him being struck with the rocks propelled by a sling or pierced painfully by the arrows of bad luck. We can imagine him with a sword, fighting back against his troubles. He calls his body a "coil," and he imagines time as "whips" beating him. All these metaphors communicate how deeply wounded and battered he feels psychologically. 

He goes on to liken death to an "undiscovered country." He imagines his thoughts as "sicklied" and "pale," another metaphor that expresses his inner despair. He then likens his thoughts to a wild ocean that sweeps his desire for action and pushes it on the wrong currents, or currents "turned awry." These metaphors suggest he oscillates from a depressed to a manic state.

All of these metaphors of wounding, of illness, and of ocean currents make real Hamlet's inner turmoil, just as the metaphor of death as an undiscovered country becomes a place we can visualize.