To be or not to be
To be or not to be
"To be or not to be..." is the opening phrase of a soliloquy in the "Nunnery Scene" of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.
In the speech, a despondent or feigning Prince Hamlet contemplates death and suicide. He bemoans the pains and unfairness of life but acknowledges the alternative might be still worse. The speech functions within the play to explain Hamlet's hesitation to directly and immediately revenge his father's murder on his uncle, stepfather, and new king Claudius. Claudius and his minister Polonius are preparing to eavesdrop on Hamlet's interaction with Ophelia:
At the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet addresses his former lover Ophelia directly. Although the audience can respect and admire Hamlet for his humanity, he dislikes himself all the more for not being able to act or "to be". The speech can be seen as Hamlet's attempt to overcome the goodness he has, so that he may avenge his father. Hamlet notices Ophelia and says - "Soft you now,/ the fair Ophelia? Nymph, in thy Orisons/Be all my sins remembered". The language he uses - especially "be all my sins remembered", can be read as Hamlet beginning to cast away the good parts of himself and commit to his anger and vengeance. In this context, Ophelia represents a good part of Hamlet that he needs to be rid of in order to commit the murder, and he does this by being cruel.
Text
Modern version
This version of the speech preserves most of the First Folio text, with updated spelling and four common emendations introduced from the Second Quarto .
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 wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's
"To be or not to be..." is the opening phrase of a soliloquy in the "Nunnery Scene" of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.
In the speech, a despondent or feigning Prince Hamlet contemplates death and suicide. He bemoans the pains and unfairness of life but acknowledges the alternative might be still worse. The speech functions within the play to explain Hamlet's hesitation to directly and immediately revenge his father's murder on his uncle, stepfather, and new king Claudius. Claudius and his minister Polonius are preparing to eavesdrop on Hamlet's interaction with Ophelia:
At the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet addresses his former lover Ophelia directly. Although the audience can respect and admire Hamlet for his humanity, he dislikes himself all the more for not being able to act or "to be". The speech can be seen as Hamlet's attempt to overcome the goodness he has, so that he may avenge his father. Hamlet notices Ophelia and says - "Soft you now,/ the fair Ophelia? Nymph, in thy Orisons/Be all my sins remembered". The language he uses - especially "be all my sins remembered", can be read as Hamlet beginning to cast away the good parts of himself and commit to his anger and vengeance. In this context, Ophelia represents a good part of Hamlet that he needs to be rid of in order to commit the murder, and he does this by being cruel.
Text
Modern version
This version of the speech preserves most of the First Folio text, with updated spelling and four common emendations introduced from the Second Quarto .
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 wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's