# Heine's Soliloquy explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

A parody of Hamlet's soliloquy, this chapter presents a baseball player's internal conflict over whether to protest an umpire's bad call or remain silent to avoid losing money. The speaker ultimately decides to suppress his anger for financial reasons, reflecting on how money makes cowards of us all.

## Themes in this chapter

### Money and Materialism

The central theme of the soliloquy: the speaker's fear of losing money ('dough') and material goods ('togs') overrides his desire to protest injustice, illustrating how financial concerns can suppress personal integrity.

### Humor and Satire

The chapter is a humorous parody of Shakespeare's Hamlet, using baseball jargon and exaggerated frustration to satirize the conflict between pride and pragmatism in sports.

## Character check-ins

### Heine

The speaker of the soliloquy, a baseball player wrestling with the decision to protest umpire calls or stay silent to protect his earnings.

## Key lines

> To kick—to beef— To beef!—perchance to scream: 'Ah, there, you dub, You ⸻ ⸻ ⸻ ⸻ ⸻ ⸻!!!'

To argue or complain—maybe even shout an insult at the umpire.

_The speaker considers protesting a bad call but hesitates due to the potential fine._

> Thus money does make cowards of us all

So it is that the desire to keep our money turns us into cowards.

_The concluding moral of the soliloquy, directly echoing Shakespeare's 'conscience does make cowards of us all.'_

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters/heine-s-soliloquy
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters