summary of hamlet's to be or not to be speech

A Summary and Analysis of Shakespeare’s ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy from Hamlet

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘To be, or not to be, that is the question’: perhaps one of the most famous lines in all of English literature, but arguably also one of the most mysterious – and one of the most misread. Hamlet’s soliloquy from William Shakespeare’s play is rightly celebrated for being a meditation on the nature of life and death, but some interpretations of the soliloquy serve to reduce the lines to a more simplistic meaning. So what does ‘To be or not to be’ really mean?

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

Virtually everyone knows the line, ‘To be, or not to be: that is the question’. Whether we hear Laurence Olivier reciting them, or erroneously picture some other great Shakespearean actor pronouncing these words while holding a skull (which actually belongs in the later gravedigger scene), ‘To be or not to be’ is one of the most famous six-line phrases from all of English literature.

But interestingly, in the first printing of  Hamlet , the lines were quite different (see the image from the Quarto, below right): ‘To be, or not to be: that is the question’ was instead ‘To be, or not to be, I there’s the point’ (this version may have been actors or audience-members misremembering the lines from the play and trying to reconstruct them from memory).

Yet the precise meaning of these words, and the lines that follow, is often analysed in a way that not only reduces the ambiguity of the lines to a simple and straightforward narrative (Hamlet is pondering whether to kill himself or not) but also risks losing sight of the broader context in which they appear, namely the play Hamlet viewed as a whole.

For if there is one thing that marks Hamlet (and the character, Hamlet), it is his supposed vacillation, his indecision, his delaying: and his dilatoriness centres on his failure to take revenge on his uncle, Claudius, for the murder of his father, Old Hamlet.

What makes ‘To be or not to be’ such a cryptic utterance is that the lines telegraph, and even actively elide, the full thought which Hamlet is mulling over. Should ‘To be or not to be’ be silently completed by us as ‘To be alive or not to be alive’ (the ‘suicide’ interpretation), or as ‘To be an avenger or not to be an avenger’ (bringing in the revenge plot of the play)?

The problem is that the lines which follow, far from being specifically about the pros and cons of killing oneself, can actually be used to support either interpretation.

To ‘suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles / And by opposing end them’ sounds like somebody wondering whether to carry on living or to end it all, but these lines might just as easily refer to Hamlet’s dilemma over whether to accept the challenge mounted by the Ghost (avenge his murdered father) or to stand by and passively let things play out as ‘fortune’ decrees.

The lines that follow:

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

Seem to be more specifically focused on the suicide question, but even here there is some ambiguity. Given that the Ghost of his dead father is firmly on young Hamlet’s mind, he is also meditating here on what happens when we die (not just on what might happen when he dies).

The Ghost appears to call into question that ‘to die’ is ‘to sleep’, since Old Hamlet has not been allowed to rest; he is a ‘traveller’ who has returned from that ‘undiscovered country’ beyond the grave.

Hamlet’s delaying tactics are themselves often misinterpreted. Is it fair to say that Hamlet delays? Yes. Is it fair to say that he delays because he is indecisive? That’s less certain. He certainly gives us that impression, and torments himself for being not ‘man’ enough to avenge his father.

But Hamlet’s ‘failure’ to act immediately is actually downright sensible, since he wants to be sure that the Ghost which he spoke to, which assumed the form of his father, actually was his father and spoke truth to him, rather than being some mischievous demon sent to goad him to murder an innocent man. This is why he puts on the ‘play within a play’ (actually called The Murder of Gonzago , but which Hamlet wittily renames The Mousetrap ): to try to collect evidence of Claudius’ guilt.

As this is a soliloquy from a Shakespeare play, ‘To be or not to be’ is in iambic pentameter – specifically, unrhymed iambic pentameter, or blank verse . But there are a number of variations. Should we stress ‘that’ or ‘is’ in ‘that is the question’? Although ‘ that is the question’ may be more common an interpretation, ‘that is the question’ is viable too.

For our money, the best interpretation of Shakespeare’s lines was by the great actor Paul Scofield; you can hear him reciting ‘To be or not to be’ here . For more about the play, see our analysis of  Hamlet and our study of the character of Hamlet . You might also find our analysis of another of Hamlet’s soliloquies, ‘ O, that this too too solid flesh would melt ’, of interest.

About Hamlet

But despite – or, perhaps, because of – this emotional intensity and complexity, actors down the ages have been keen to put their own stamp on the role, including David Garrick (who had a special wig that made Hamlet’s hair stand on end when the ghost of his father appeared), Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Mel Gibson, Sarah Bernhardt (one of many women to portray the Prince of Denmark), Ethan Hawke, Keanu Reeves, Kenneth Branagh, Maxine Peake, and even John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

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13 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Shakespeare’s ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy from Hamlet”

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In support of the revenge motive, Hamlet faces off against a powerful and popular king, albeit a usurper, who’s dangerous and also loved by his mother whose own motives are suspect. Claudius was more the politician/ruler and Hamlet the Renaissance scholar, one strong in arms, the other whose demise allowed Fortinbras (“strong in arms”) to invade and take over Denmark at the end. While Claudius was on the throne, Hamlet struggled to overthrow him until he was sure of his guilt. Part of the play’s genius is Claudius’ own soul-searching guilt that had Hamlet known, would have led to sooner action on the part of the prince. Throughout, as audience we are brought into the many deliberations knowing more than the characters inside the play know and wondering who we are as a result of Hamlet discovering himself. The opening words of the play tell it all: Who’s there?

I think you have to work hard to interpret this as not contemplating his fear of death and what lies beyond. That’s not to say the issue of revenge isn’t there – of course it is, Hamlet wouldn’t be contemplating death if not for the foul deed the ghost has laid before him!

As far as the stress on ‘that’ or ‘is’, I think this link should solve this… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEs8rK5Cqt8

Thanks, Ken. I absolutely agree that Hamlet is contemplating death here, but as you say, it’s his *fear* of death – and what awaits him afterwards – that lurks behind his words. If he chooses to ‘avenge’ his father and kill Claudius, and he’s been tricked by the Ghost and Claudius was innocent, hell awaits him. The fact that he refers to the afterlife as the ‘undiscover’d country, from whose bourn / No traveller returns’ when he’s recently been visited by a traveller who has returned (i.e. his father), suggests that he’s still doubting the truth of the Ghost. But this is perhaps partly why the lines have attained the status they have: they resist any narrowly reductive take that sees this as exclusively a ‘suicide speech’ (or similar). I may need to go and reread the play now…

I’ve just been working with the play with A level students recently so it is very fresh in my mind. I’ve grown to love the speech when, perhaps, I’ve tended to let ‘familiarity breed contempt’ in the past. It’s a superb rendering of anguish over a ‘do I, don’t I?’ situation which, of course, has eternal consequences. The Ghost also reveals there’s doubt over the ‘perchance to dream’ that death should be – what if Hamlet is to die and roam the Earth in torment like his father?! What would we choose, I wonder…

As an aside, and fearing ruining what little reputation I might have(!) – for my money the best Hamlet of all is Mel Gibson. I genuinely rate him over all the so-called ‘serious’ Shakespearean actors (yes, even over Olivier) and recommend his film version to all students who want a believable rather than stylised rendition of the character.

Reblogged this on Manolis .

Hamlet tells us what the speech is about in lines 2-5, where he explains what he means by “To be or not to be”. He means that there are two options for him: these options are: in lines 2-3, to put up with random unpleasantness from Claudius and others; in lines 4-5, to actually do something, viz. to take up arms, to fight, and possibly, within the context of the plot, to kill Claudius. As a result of killing Claudius, Hamlet might well die himself.

The natural meaning of “take arms against a sea of troubles” etc is to battle some exterior force; to grab weapons to do battle against the sea which is out there, not here, and certainly not inside us. Or, if the sea were metaphorically inside him, and were an interior enemy, he would need to make that clear, which he does not do. The meaning remains, imho, the clear and patent one, rather than a reference to suicide.

So the dilemma is to put up, or to take action; and this is set out clearly at the start. However, as you say, there is some shadow of suicide in the words of the first line too; and this shadow comes to life when the “bare bodkin” is mentioned later. The speech is about putting up (and choosing life), or not putting up (and maybe choosing death), and the implications of this choice in the next world and this one. Hovering above the text (or lurking beneath it) is the idea that suicide could be an option, too.

It’s always interesting to hear a new perspective on this soliloquy.

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To be, or not to be from Hamlet

By William Shakespeare

“To be, or not to be,” the opening line of Hamlet’s mindful soliloquy, is one of the most thought-provoking quotes of all time. The monologue features the important theme of existential crisis.

William Shakespeare

His plays and poems are read all over the world.  

Poem Analyzed by Sudip Das Gupta

First-class B.A. Honors Degree in English Literature

The “To be, or not to be” quote is taken from the first line of Hamlet’s soliloquy that appears in Act 3, Scene 1 of the eponymous play by William Shakespeare ( Bio | Poems ) , “Hamlet”. The full quote, “To be, or not to be, that is the question” is famous for its open-ended meaning that not only encompasses the thoughts raging inside Hamlet’s mind but also features the theme of existential crisis. Digging deeper into the soliloquy reveals a variety of concepts and meanings that apply to all human beings. For this reason, the quote has become a specimen for understanding how Shakespeare thought.

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Explore To be, or not to be

• 3 Structure
• 4 Literary Devices
• 5 Detailed Analysis
• 6 Historical Context
• 7 Notable Usage
• 9 Similar Quotes

In Act 3, Scene 1, also known as the “nunnery scene,” of the tragedy , “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare ( Bio | Poems ) , this monologue appears. Hamlet, torn between life and death, utters the words to the audience revealing what is happening inside his mind. It is a soliloquy because Hamlet does not express his thoughts to other characters. Rather he discusses what he thinks in that critical juncture with his inner self.

Before reading this soliloquy, readers have to go through the plots that happened in the play. In the previous plots, Hamlet has lost his father. He is broken to know the fact that his uncle Claudius killed his father treacherously and married his mother, Gertrude. Having a conversation with the ghost of his father, he is torn between perception and reality.

In such a critical situation, Hamlet feels extremely lonely as there are no other persons to console him. Besides, Ophelia is not accepting his love due to the pressure from her family. For all the things happening in his life, he feels it is better to die rather than living and mutely bearing the pangs that life is sending him in a row. Being engrossed with such thoughts, he utters this soliloquy, “To be, or not to be.”

“To be, or not to be” by William Shakespeare ( Bio | Poems ) describes how Hamlet is torn between life and death. His mental struggle to end the pangs of his life gets featured in this soliloquy.

Hamlet’s soliloquy begins with the memorable line, “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” It means that he cannot decide what is better, ending all the sufferings of life by death, or bearing the mental burdens silently. He is in such a critical juncture that it seems death is more rewarding than all the things happening with him for the turn of fortune.

Death is like sleep, he thinks, that ends this fitful fever of life. But, what dreams are stored for him in the pacifying sleep of death. This thought makes him rethink and reconsider. Somehow, it seems to him that before diving deeper into the regions of unknown and unseen, it is better to wait and see. In this way, his subconscious mind makes him restless and he suffers in inaction.

The full quotation is regarded as a soliloquy. Though in the plot , Ophelia is on stage pretending to read, Hamlet expresses his thoughts only to himself. He is unaware of the fact that Ophelia is already there. Being engrossed in his self-same musing, he clarifies his thoughts to himself first as he is going to take a tough decision.

Therefore, this quote is a soliloquy that Shakespeare uses as a dramatic device to let Hamlet make his thoughts known to the audience, addressing them indirectly.

In the earliest version of the play, this monologue is 35 lines long. The last two lines are often excluded from the soliloquy as those lines contain the mental transition of the speaker , from thoughts to reality.

The overall soliloquy is in blank verse as the text does not have a rhyming scheme . Most of Shakespeare’s dramas are written in this form. Besides, it is written in iambic pentameter with a few metrical variations.

For example, let’s have a look at the metrically scanned opening line of the soliloquy:

To be ,/ or not / to be ,/ that is / the quest(io)n :

The last syllable of the line contains an elision .

Literary Devices

The first line of the speech , “To be, or not to be, that is the question” contains two literary devices. These are antithesis and aporia . The following lines also contain aporia.

Readers come across a metaphor in, “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” This line also contains a personification . Another device is embedded in the line. After rereading the line, it can be found that there is a repetition of the “r” sound. It’s an alliteration .

There is another metaphor in the phrase, “sea of troubles.” In the next two lines, Shakespeare uses enjambment and internally connects the lines for maintaining the speech’s flow.

Readers can find a use of synecdoche in the line, “That flesh is heir to.” They can find an anadiplosis in the lines, “To die, to sleep;/ To sleep, perchance to dream.” Besides, a circumlocution or hyperbaton can be found in this line, “When we have shuffled off this mortal coil.”

After this line, the speaker presents a series of causes that lead to his suffering. These lines collectively contain a device called the climax . Using this device, Shakespeare presents the most shocking idea at the very end. He uses a rhetorical question , “With a bare bodkin?” at the end to heighten this dramatic effect.

There is an epigram in the line, “Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all.” The following lines contain this device as well.

Detailed Analysis

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

The first line of Hamlet’s soliloquy, “To be, or nor to be” is one of the best-known quotes from all the Shakespearean works combined. In the play, “Hamlet” the tragic hero expresses this soliloquy to the audience in Act 3, Scene 1. As the plots reflect, Hamlet is facing an existential crisis after coming across the harsh reality of his father’s death and his mother’s subsequent marriage with his uncle, Claudius, the murderer of King Hamlet. Everything was happening so quickly that it was difficult to digest their effect.

The truth, like arrows bolting directly toward his mind, made him so vulnerable that he was just a step behind madness or death. It is not clear whether Hamlet’s deliriously spoke this soliloquy or he was preparing himself to die. Whatsoever, through this dramatic device, Shakespeare projects how Hamlet’s mind is torn between life and death.

The first line of his soliloquy is open-ended. It is a bit difficult to understand what the question is. “To be, or not be” is an intellectual query that a princely mind is asking the readers. This antithetical idea reveals Hamlet is not sure whether he wants to live or die. If readers strictly adhere to the plot, they can decode this line differently. It seems that the hero is asking whether it is right to be a murderer for the right cause or be merciful for saving his soul from damnation.

Firstly, if he chooses to avenge his father’s death, it will eventually kill the goodness in him. Secondly, if he refuses to submit to his animalistic urges, the pain lying deep in his subconscious mind is going to torture his soul. For this reason, he is going through a mental crisis regarding which path to choose. This question is constantly confusing his mind.

Lines 2–5

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.

From these lines, it becomes clear what questions are troubling the tragic hero, Hamlet. He is asking just a simple question. Readers should not take this question at its surface value. They have to understand what is going on in his mind. He asks whether a noble mind like him has to suffer the metaphorical “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” In this phrase, Shakespeare compares fortune to an archer who releases arrows and hurts Hamlet’s mind.

The speaker talks about the events happening in his life for his misfortune . Those situations not only make his mind bruised but also make him vulnerable to the upcoming arrows. In such a critical mental state, a single blow of fortune can end his life. But, he has not submitted himself to fate yet. He is ready to fight against those troubles and end them all at once.

The phrase, “sea of troubles” contains hyperbole . It also contains a metaphor. The comparison is between the vastness of the sea to the incalculable troubles of the speaker’s life. It is important to mention here that the speaker just wants an answer. He badly wants to end the troubles but he thinks by choosing the safest path of embracing death, he can also finish his mental sufferings.

Lines 5–9

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 wish’d.

In this section of the soliloquy, “To be, or not to be” Hamlet’s utterings reflect a sense of longing for death. According to him, dying is like sleeping. Through this sleep that will help him to end the mental sufferings, he can get a final relief. The phrase, “No more” emphasizes how much he longs for this eternal sleep.

This path seems more relieving for Hamlet. Why is it so? Hamlet has to undergo a lot of troubles to be free from the shackles of “outrageous fortune.” While if he dies, there is no need to do anything. Just a moment can end, all of his troubles. It seems easier than said. However, for a speaker like Hamlet who has seen much, the cold arm of death is more soothing than the tough punches of fortune.

For this reason, he wants to take a nap in the bosom of death. In this way, the heartache and shocks will come to an end. The speaker refers to two types of pain. One is natural that troubles every human being. While another pain is inflicted by the wrongs of others. The sufferer cannot put an end to such suffering. However, death can end both of these pains.

There are thousands of natural shocks that the human body is destined to suffer. What are these shocks? It includes the death of a loved one, disease, bodily impairment, and many more. In Hamlet’s case, losing his dear father tragically is a natural shock. But, the cause of the death increases the intensity of the shock. The subsequent events, one by one, add more burdens on Hamlet’s mind.

To end this mental tension, Hamlet devoutly wishes for the “consummation” that will not only relieve him but also end the cycle of events. Here, Shakespeare uses the word “consummation” in its metaphorical sense. The final moment when all the sufferings come to an end is death. So, it’s a consummation that is devoutly wished.

Lines 9–14

To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause—there’s the respect That makes calamity of so long life.

Again, Shakespeare uses the repetition of the phrase, “To die, to sleep.” It is the second instance where Hamlet uses these words. If readers closely analyze the lines, it will be clear that Hamlet uses this phrase to mark a transition in his thoughts. Besides, it also clarifies what the dominant thought of his mind is. Undoubtedly, it is the thoughts of death. Not death, to be specific. He sees death as sleeping. How he thinks about death, reveals the way he thinks about life.

According to him, life means a concoction of troubles and shocks. While death is something that has an embalming effect on his mind. Therefore, he values death over life. When does a person think like that? Just before committing suicide or yielding to death wholeheartedly, such thoughts appear in a person’s mind.

From the next lines, there is an interesting transition in Hamlet’s thinking process. Previously, death seems easier than living. But, when he thinks about the dreams he is going to see in his eternal sleep, he becomes aware of the reality. From his thought process, it becomes clear. According to him, when humans die, they are not aware of what dreams will come in their sleep. It makes them stretch out their sufferings for so long.

Lines 15–21

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th’oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of dispriz’d love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th’unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin?

In this part of the “To be, or not to be” quote, Hamlet’s subconscious mind reminds him about his sufferings. The situations mentioned here have occurred in others’ lives too. Let’s see what Hamlet is saying to the audience.

According to him, none can bear the “whips and scorns” of time. Readers have to take note of the fact that Hamlet is referring to “time” here. Whereas in the first few lines, he talks about “fortune.” So, in one way or another, he is becoming realistic.

The sufferings that time sends are out of one’s control. A person has to bear whatever it sends and react accordingly. There is nothing more he can do to change the course of time as it is against nature. Not only that, Hamlet is quite depressed by the wrongs inflicted upon the innocents by the haughty kings.

The insults of proud men, pangs of unrequited love, delay in judgment, disrespectful behavior of those in power, and last but not least the mistreatment that a “patient merit” receives from the “unworthy” pain him deeply. He is mistreated in all spheres, be it on a personal level such as love, or in public affairs. In all cases, he is the victim. He has gone through all such pangs while he can end his life with a “bare bodkin.” Bodkin is an archaic term for a dagger.

In this way, Hamlet is feeling death is the easiest way to end all the pains and mistreatment he received from others. These lines reveal how the mental tension is reaching its climax.

Lines 21–27

Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovere’d country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of?

The first two lines of this section refer to the fact that none choose to “grunt and sweat” through the exhausting life. In the first line, “fardels” mean the burdens of life. According to the narrator , life seems an exhausting journey that has nothing to offer instead of suffering and pain. To think about life in this way makes the speaker’s mind wearier than before.

From the following lines, Hamlet makes clear why he cannot proceed further and die. He is not sure whether life after death is that smooth as he thinks. It is possible that even after his death, he will not be relieved. He knows death is an “undiscovered country.” Only those who have already gone there know how it is. Besides, nobody can return from death’s dominion. A living being cannot know what happens there.

Such thoughts confuse the speaker more. It puzzles his will to do something that can end his mental pain. Therefore, he has to bear the ills of life throughout the journey than flying to the unknown regions of death. In the last line, Shakespeare uses a rhetorical question to make readers think about what the speaker is trying to mean.

At this point of the whole soliloquy, it becomes crystal clear that Hamlet is not ready to embrace death easily. He is just thinking. At one point, he gives the hint that death seems easier than bearing life’s ills. On the other hand, he negates his idea and says it is better to bear the reality rather than finding solace in perception.

Lines 28–35

Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action.—Soft you now, The fair Ophelia!—Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remembered.

The last section of the soliloquy, “To be, or not to be” begins with an epigrammatic idea. Here, the speaker says the “conscience doth make cowards of us all.” It means that the fear of death in one’s awareness makes him a coward. In Hamlet’s case, his aware mind makes him confused regarding the happenings after death. Not knowing a solid answer, he makes a coward of himself.

Alongside that, the natural boldness metaphorically referred to as “the native hue of resolution ,” becomes sick for the “pale cast of thought.” In “pale cast of thought,” Shakespeare personifies “thought” and invests it with the idea of casting pale eyes on a person. It means that when Hamlet thinks about death, his natural boldness fades away and he becomes a coward.

In the following lines, he remarks about how he suffers for inaction. According to him, such thoughts stop him from taking great action. It should be taken in a moment. In that place, the currents of action get misdirected and lose the name of action. It means that Hamlet is trying to take the final step but somehow his thoughts are holding him back. For this reason, the action of ending his sufferings loses the name of action.

The last few lines of the soliloquy present how Hamlet stops his musings when he discovers his beloved Ophelia is coming that way. He wishes that she may remember him in her prayers.

Historical Context

The text of “To be, or not to be” is taken from the Second Quarto (Q2) of the play, “Hamlet” which was published in 1604. It is considered the earliest version of the play. William Shakespeare ( Bio | Poems ) wrote, “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” best-known as only “Hamlet” sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is the longest play of Shakespeare containing 29,551 words.

Shakespeare derived the story of Hamlet from the legend of Amleth. He may also have drawn on the play, “Ur-Hamlet,” an earlier Elizabethan play. Scholars believe that Shakespeare wrote this play and later revised it.

Before the 18th century, there was not any concrete idea regarding how the character of Hamlet is. After reading his soliloquies such as “To be, or not to be,” it became more confusing for the scholars to understand what category this Shakespearean hero falls in. Later, the 19th-century scholars valued the character for his internal struggles and tensions.

Through this soliloquy, readers can know a lot about Hamlet’s overall character. Firstly, he is consciously protestant in his thoughts. On the other hand, he is a philosophical character. His monologue, “To be, or not to be, that is the question” expounds the ideas of relativism, existentialism , and skepticism.

Notable Usage

The quote, “To be, or not to be” is the most widely known line and overall Hamlet’s soliloquy has been referenced in several works of theatre, literature, and music. Let’s have a look at some of the works where the opening line of Hamlet’s soliloquy is mentioned.

• The plot of the comedy , “To Be or Not to Be” by Ernst Lubitsch, is focused on Hamlet’s soliloquy.
• Charlie Chaplin recites this monologue in the comedy film A King in New York (1957).
• The line, “To be or not to be” inspired the title of the short story , “2 B R 0 2 B” by Kurt Vonnegut.
• Black liberation leader Malcolm X quoted the first lines of the soliloquy in a debate in Oxford in 1963 to make a point about “extremism in defense of liberty”.
• The sixth movie of Star Trek, “Undiscovered Country” was named after the line, “The undiscover’d country, from whose borne…” from the soliloquy.

Let’s watch two of the notable actors portraying the character of Hamlet.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch performed Hamlet at the Barbican Centre in London in 2015. Let’s see how our on-screen “Sherlock” performs Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” onstage.

Andrew Scott

At the Almeida, Andrew Scott played Hamlet under the direction of Robert Icke in 2016. It’s interesting to know how “Moriarty” delves deeper into the character through this soliloquy.

In William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet,” the titular character, Hamlet says this soliloquy .

“To be, or not be” means Hamlet’s mind is torn between two things, “being” and “not being.” “Being” means life and action. While “not being” refers to death and inaction.

The greatest English writer of all time, William Shakespeare wrote: “To be, or not be.” This quote appears in his tragedy Hamlet written sometime between 1599 and 1601.

In Act 3, Scene 1 of the play, Hamlet seems to be puzzled by the question of whether to live or die. He is standing in such a critical situation that life seems painful to bear and death appears to be an escape route from all the sufferings. In this existential crisis, Hamlet utters the soliloquy , “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

In Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet,” the central figure asks this question to himself. It is the first line of Hamlet’s widely known soliloquy .

This soliloquy is all about a speaker ’s existential crisis. In the play, Hamlet is going through a tough phase. He is torn between life and death, action and inaction. On both the way, he is aware of the fact that he is destined to suffer.

In Act 3 Scene 1 of “Hamlet,” Polonius forces Ophelia to return the love letters of Hamlet. In the meanwhile, he and Claudius watch from afar to understand Hamlet’s reaction. They wait for Ophelia to enter the scene. At that time, Hamlet is seen walking alone in the hall asking whether “to be or not to be.”

The opening line of Hamlet’s soliloquy , “To be, or not to be” is one of the most-quoted lines in English. The lines are famous for their simplicity. At the same time, the lines explore some of the deeper concepts such as action and inaction, life and death. Besides, the repetition of the phrase, “to be” makes this line easy to remember.

In Act 3 Scene 1, Hamlet is seen walking in the hall and musing whether “To be, or not be” to himself. It is a soliloquy that Hamlet speaks directly to the audience to make his thoughts and intentions known to them.

This soliloquy is 33 lines long and contains 262 words. It takes up to 4 minutes to perform.

Similar Quotes

Here is a list of some thought-provoking Shakespearean quotes that are similar to Hamlet’s soliloquy, ‘To be, or not to be” . Explore the greatest Shakespearean poetry and more works of William Shakespeare .

• All the World’s A Stage from As You Like It – In this monologue, the speaker considers the nature of the world, the roles men and women play, and how one turns old.
• Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me from Macbeth – This famous soliloquy of Macbeth describes how he is taken over by guilt and insanity. His imagination brings forth a dagger that symbolizes the impending murder of Duncan.
• The quality of mercy is not strained from The Merchant of Venice – In this monologue of Ophelia, Shakespeare describes how mercy, an attribute of God, can save a person’s soul and elevate him to the degree of God.
• Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow from Macbeth – In this soliloquy, the speaker sees life as a meaningless one that leads people to their inevitable death.

You can also read these heartfelt poems about depression  and incredible poems about death .

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Home » William Shakespeare » To be, or not to be from Hamlet

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Good morning, I had a few questions.

• What is the language style of shakespeare in this solliluquy?
• What is the language technique of shakespeare in this solliluquy?
• What is the language structure in this solliluquy?
• Please explain all the literary devices used in here, I am very confused about them.
• What is the significance of the points presented in the soliloquy?
• Explain the modern day relevance as well

I am struggling with these questions, if you could reply as fast as possible, it would have been very helpful. Explain them perfectly, please.

This is a lot of questions! Have you read the article? It has a section on the structure and the techniques used which should answer many of these. So once you have had a read. If you still have a couple of pressing questions I will gladly help you out

Please help me, I know the answers, but how do I explain them?

Have you read the article? As I said to you the answers to most of your questions are in the article. I’m going to assume these questions are for a piece of homework. If that is the case then it’s really important to be able to read and synthesise information. Copying and pasting may get you out of an awkward situation but it won’t help you learn. So with that in mind, if you answer three of these questions (the answers are in the article) I will help you with the others. I don’t mind if the answers aren’t quite right. Do your best. If you head into an exam and right nothing you get no marks. If you give an answer you give yourself the potential to score some marks even if you’re unsure.

You attribute ‘The quality of mercy …’ to Ophelia (similar quotes, supra) when it should be attributed to Portia.

Thank you for highlighting this.

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Gupta, SudipDas. "To be, or not to be from Hamlet". Poem Analysis , https://poemanalysis.com/william-shakespeare/to-be-or-not-to-be/ . Accessed 20 August 2024.

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Hamlet: ‘To Be Or Not To Be, That Is The Question’

‘ To be or not to be , that is the question’  is the most famous soliloquy in the works of Shakespeare – quite possibly the most famous soliloquy in literature. Read Hamlet’s famous soliloquy below with a modern translation and full explanation of the meaning of ‘To be or not to be’. We’ve also pulled together a bunch of commonly asked questions about Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, and have a couple of top performances of the soliloquy to watch.

Jump to section: Full soliloquy | Analysis | Performances | FAQs | Final read

Let’s start with a read-through of Shakespeare’s original lines:

Hamlet’s ‘To Be Or Not To Be’ Speech, Act 3 Scene 1

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 wish’d. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream : ay, there’s the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there’s the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover’d country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action.–Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember’d.

Hamlet ‘To Be Or Not To Be’ Analysis

Hamlet is thinking about life and death. It is the great question that Hamlet is asking about human existence in general and his own existence in particular – a reflection on whether it’s better to be alive or to be dead.

The in-depth version

The first six words of the soliloquy establish a balance. There is a direct opposition – to be, or not to be. Hamlet is thinking about life and death and pondering a state of being versus a state of not being – being alive and being dead.

The balance continues with a consideration of the way one deals with life and death. Life is a lack of power: the living are at the mercy of the blows of outrageous fortune. The only action one can take against the things he lists among those blows is to end one’s life. That’s the only way of opposing them. The ‘sleep of death’ is therefore empowering: killing oneself is a way of taking action, taking up arms, opposing and defeating the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Living is a passive state; dying is an active state. But in order to reach the condition of death one has to take action in life – charge fully armed against Fortune – so the whole proposition is circular and hopeless because one does not really have the power of action in life.

Death is something desirable – devoutly to be wished, a consummation – a perfect closure. It’s nothing more than a sleep. But there’s a catch, which Hamlet calls a rub. A ‘rub’ is a bowls term meaning an obstacle on the bowls lawn that diverts the bowl, so the fear of the life hereafter is the obstacle that makes us pause and perhaps change the direction of our thinking. We don’t control our dreams so what dreams may come in that sleep in which we have shuffled off all the fuss and bother of life? He uses the term ‘ mortal coil ,’ which is an Elizabethan word for a big fuss, such as there may be in the preparations for a party or a wedding – a lot of things going on and a lot of rushing about. With that thought, Hamlet stops to reconsider. What will happen when we have discarded all the hustle and bustle of life? The problem with the proposition is that the sleep of death is unknown and could be worse than life.

And now Hamlet reflects on a final end. A ‘quietus’ is a legal word meaning a final definitive end to an argument. He opposes this Latin word against the Celtic ‘sweating’ and ‘grunting’ of a living person as an Arab beneath an overwhelmingly heavy load – a fardel, the load carried by a camel. Who would bear that when he could just draw a line under life with something as simple as a knitting needle – a bodkin? It’s quite a big thought and it’s fascinating that this enormous act – drawing a line under life – can be done with something as simple as a knitting needle. And how easy that seems.

Hamlet now lets his imagination wander on the subject of the voyages of discovery and the exploratory expeditions. Dying is like crossing the border between known and unknown geography. One is likely to be lost in that unmapped place, from which one would never return. The implication is that there may be unimagined horrors in that land.

Hamlet now seems to make a decision. He makes the profound judgment that ‘conscience does make cowards of us all,’ This sentence is probably the most important one in the soliloquy. There is a religious dimension to it as it is a sin to take one’s life. So with that added dimension, the fear of the unknown after death is intensified.

But there is more to it than that. It is not just about killing himself but also about the mission he is on – to avenge his father’s death by killing his father’s murderer. Throughout the action of the play, he makes excuses for not killing him and turns away when he has the chance. ‘Conscience does make cowards of us all.’ Convention demands that he kill Claudius but murder is a sin and that conflict is the core of the play.

At the end of the soliloquy, he pulls himself out of this reflective mode by deciding that too much thinking about it is the thing that will prevent the action he has to rise to.

This is not entirely a moment of possible suicide. It’s not that he’s contemplating suicide as much as reflecting on life, and we find that theme all through the text. In this soliloquy, life is burdensome and devoid of power. In another, it’s ‘weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,’ like a garden overrun with weeds. In this soliloquy, Hamlet gives a list of all the things that annoy him about life: the whips and scorns of time, the oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, the pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, t he insolence of office and the spurns t hat patient merit of the unworthy takes. But there’s a sense of agonized frustration in this soliloquy that however bad life is we’re prevented from doing anything about it by fear of the unknown.

Watch Two Theatre Greats Recite Hamlet’s Soliloquy

David Tenant as Hamlet in the RSC’s 2009 Hamlet production:

We couldn’t resist but share Patrick Stewart’s comedy take on the soliloquy for Sesame Street!

Commonly Asked Questions About ‘To Be Or Not To Be’

Why is hamlet’s ‘to be or not to be’ speech so famous.

This is partly because the opening words are so interesting, memorable and intriguing, but also because Shakespeare ranges around several cultures and practices to borrow the language for his images. Just look at how many now-famous phrases are used in the speech – ‘take arms’, ‘what dreams may come’, ‘sea of troubles’, ‘to sleep perchance to dream’. ‘sleep of death’, ‘whether tis nobler’, ‘flesh is heir’, ‘must give us pause’, ‘mortal coil’, ‘suffer the slings and arrows’, outrageous fortune’, ‘the insolence of office’… the list goes on and on.

Add to this the fact that Shakespeare is dealing with profound concepts, putting complex philosophical ideas into the mouth of a character on a stage, and communicating with an audience with a wide range of educational levels, and you have a selection of reasons as to why this soliloquy is as famous as it is. Just look at how many now phrases

How long is ‘To be or not to be’?

The ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy is 33 lines long, and consists of 262 words. Hamlet, the play in which ‘to be or not to be’ occurs is Shakespeare’s longest play with 4,042 lines. It takes four hours to perform  Hamlet  on the stage, with the ‘to be or not to be’ soliloquy taking anywhere from two to four minutes.

Why is ‘To be or not to be’ so important?

‘To be or not to be’ is not important in itself but it has gained tremendous significance in that it is perhaps the most famous phrase in all the words of the playwright considered to be the greatest writer in the English language. It is also significant in the play,  Hamlet , itself in that it goes directly to the heart of the play’s meaning.

Why does Hamlet say ‘To be or not to be’?

To be or not to be’ is a soliloquy of Hamlet’s – meaning that although he is speaking aloud to the audience none of the other characters can hear him. Soliloquies were a convention of Elizabethan plays where characters spoke their thoughts to the audience. Hamlet says ‘To be or not to be’ because he is questioning the value of life and asking himself whether it’s worthwhile hanging in there. He is extremely depressed at this point and fed up with everything in the world around him, and he is contemplating putting an end to himself.

Is ‘To be or not to be’ a metaphor?

The line ‘To be or not to be’ is very straightforward and direct, and has no metaphorical aspect at all. It’s a simple statement made up of five two-letter words and one of three – it’s so simple that a child in the early stages of learning to read can read it. Together with the sentence that follows it  – ‘that is the question – it is a simple question about human existence. The rest of the soliloquy goes on to use a number of metaphors.

What is Shakespeare saying in ‘To be or not to be’?

In the ‘To be or not be to’ soliloquy Shakespeare has his Hamlet character speak theses famous lines. Hamlet is wondering whether he should continue to be, meaning to exist or remain alive, or to not exist – in other words, commit suicide. His thoughts about that develop in the rest of the soliloquy.

Why is ‘To be or not to be’ so memorable?

Ask people to quote a line of Shakespeare and more often than not it’s ‘To be or not to be’ that’s mentioned. So just what is it that makes this line of Shakespeare’s so memorable?

The line is what is  known as a chiasmus  because of its balance and structure, and that’s what makes it memorable. Look at this chiasmus from John F Kennedy: ‘Do not ask what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.’  Far more complex than Shakespeare’s line but even so, having heard it one could never forget it. The first and second halves mirror each other, the second being an inversion of the first. Winston Churchill’s speeches are full of chiasma. Even when he is joking they flow: ‘All babies look like me, but then I look like all babies.’

Chiasma are always short and snappy and say a lot in their repetition of words and their balance. And so it is with Hamlet’s speech that starts ‘to be or not to be’, arguably Shakespeare’s most memorable line – in the collective conscience centuries after the words were written and performed.

Look at the balance of the line. It has only four words: ‘to,’ ‘be,’ ‘or’ and ‘not.’ The fact is that the language is as simple as language can get but the ideas are extremely profound. ‘To take arms against a sea of troubles,’ for example, and ‘To die, to sleep, no more, but in that sleep of death what dreams may come,’ every word but one monosyllabic, go right to the heart of human existence and the deepest dilemmas of life.

Let’s try reading it again…

If you’re still with us, you should now have a pretty good understanding of the true meaning behind the words of Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be’ speech. You may have also watched two fantastic actors speak the immortal words, so should have a much clearer understanding of what messages the soliloquy is trying to convey.

With all of this in mind, why not try reading the words aloud to yourself one more time:

David Tennant speaks Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy

And that’s all for this take on Hamlet’s immortal lines. Did this page help you? Any information we’re missing that would be useful? Please do let us know in the comments section below!

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I apologise for the small gripe, but since when did ‘sweating’ and ‘grunting’ become ‘Celtic’ words?

Both words are of Proto-Germanic origin, and Proto-Celt along with Proto-Germanic are considered to be of Indo-European in origin. Which is different than being Latin in origin. I would assume that perhaps they made an error in mentioning they were Celtic in origin instead of Germanic.

I’ve seen a theatrical “King Lear “ recently, and noticed with surprise that there is a soliloquy of “ to be or not to be “ from Hamlet. Is it a free interpretation of the director or is it a real citation from Hamlet? Thank you very much

I appreciate the clear explanation with background you give! Great job!

Thank You. These words remind me that all lives are lived with burdens perceived that don’t always become our realities.At the same time they are encouraging as we move out of shadows into light.

This is where Albert Camus gets the opening lines of “The Myth of Sisyphus.” He writes, The whole question of philosophy is the question of suicide.

Or, as the ancient Greeks had it; ‘ the greatest gift the gods have given to man is that he may end his life when he will’. But I prefer ‘ eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die’; 91 soon so each day is a bonus. Wouldn’t be dead for quids !

Thank you, it was as much as I wanted and not more than I needed.

I gotta memorize this for AP English and man I HATE IT!!! Hamlet needs to stop being a little crybaby and just DO IT already!!!!!

Not a bad summary but some mistakes. 1) The first line is not a chiasmus: in a chiasmus, as you correctly illustrate, each part has two elements and they swap places. 2) Hamlet is not debating whether HE should continue to be as the speech is completely impersonal. 3) The idea that he is depressed, and indeed that the speech is a soliloquy, are guesses supported only by post-Renaissance sentimental theatrical tradition, which has sentimentalised the character. Neither you nor anyone else has found a clear meaning in the speech, and since we don’t know what he’s saying we don’t know why he says it. Moreover, the utter impersonality and detachment of the speech suggest rather that it is NOT a soliloquy.

I agree with these comments. I am not satisfied with either the analysis of the writer nor with the later comment that Hamlet is a weak ‘cry baby’ It is a reflective speech not one seeking a decision. He is not choosing, he is considering the inherent options, and we can generally agree with them, although in these more secular days it is the obliteration of life and subsequent oblivion that stays our hand at self-slaughter rather than some post mortem reality. An although it is legitimate to infuse a Christian flavour to Shakespeare’s use of the word ‘conscience’, I dont choose to see the use of that word as implying ‘sin’, more an attempt to avoid making an ill informed and incorrect decision, which in fact is the inherent problem Hamlet faces throughout the play. Is his uncle really guilty, is the spirit of his father benign or demonic, and all the other questions he is constantly asking. From the writer’s point of view, these questions are the tactics he chooses to use to delay the outcome. Hamlet after all is a revenge tragedy, and must needs therefore delay the resolution of the problem posed by his father’s death. Those, like one of the above commentators, who see the whole play as a series of vacillations, are also people I am sure who have never had to kill a member of their own family to avenge the murder of another.

With respect, Shakespeare, while complex, is not inscrutable. The idea that nobody knows what this means, and we can’t know what this means – is perhaps not the best way to read Shakespeare, or anything else for that matter. Shakespeare wrote plays that were meant to be seen, experienced, understood and thought deeply about. That every generation since has done this, is why he is loved, and is why he is believed to be the best to ever put pen to paper.

It seems to me that the original author might benefit from another possibility. Namely, that the question for Hamlet is not just contemplating his own life, but whether or not to directly avenge the murder of his father. To be, or not to be, is, “to avenge” or “not to avenge” which Hamlet (perhaps mistakenly) conflates with his life and existence.

If that holds, he feels that if he does not act, then his life and existence are meaningless. Everything, for Hamlet, has reduced to this moment and this singular choice.

In this mindset, the choice becomes framed as a choice to live or not live, because that is how deeply he feels compelled to act. You could argue that he is rationalizing revenge to be an act that his very life and meaningful existence depend on. When put that way, it’s not a choice at all. He must be. He must act.

The problem is, that this isn’t true. He isn’t faced with a real binary choice in this way. He has options. Hamlet could forgive. He could walk away and forge another life in exile. He could build evidence and try to make a case for private, or even public support against the king. He could raise an army and stage a coup. He could live quietly and wait out the king’s eventual mortality. There are lots of other possibilities that could be framed.

Now, those may seem like feckless choices in the face of great injustice. But imagine what would happen to society if everyone made Hamlet’s choice in every situation. If we, took the direct handling of revenge, even arguably just revenge, into our own hands – it is Hatfield and McCoys forever, with blood in our homes and in our streets. It never stops. I would argue that history clearly teaches us that revenge almost always spills outside or our control and ends up hurting people that weren’t initially involved. Hamlet made the wrong choice and it destroyed him, his family and a lot of innocent people.

Shakespeare is brilliant and complex, and my goodness can he write the most trivial detail in the most beautiful and compelling way. But on another level, he is super simple in terms of bigger picture understanding. The question to help us understand Shakespeare (especially in the tragedies) is this: read the basic events like a child would; namely what is the result of the choices made?

Macbeth – a lot of death and chaos. Is that good or bad? Bad. It may be that Shakespeare’s larger message is that MacBeth and Lady MacBeth made wrong choices in handling ambition. Romeo and Juliet – double suicide by teen / pre-teen couple over a misunderstanding. Wrong choices in handling personal romance. Hamlet – literally everyone but a single survivor dies. Wrong choices in handling revenge and societal injustice.

The “to be or not to be” monologue is showing us how Hamlet goads his own thinking into unalterable action and shows us the setting of his will onto a path that will be incredibly destructive.

Our author here, would set this up as a choice to commit suicide (not to be), or not, and the right answer would necessarily be to live (to be). The problem is, this doesn’t fit with the play, or the outcome of the play. Hamlet is not choosing to refuse suicide in a narrative vacuum. Hamlet choosing to live, also results in the death of a lot of other people. In the narrative, his choosing to live is tightly tied to the execution of his revenge. And he dies anyway.

I suppose you could make the argument that Hamlet was justified in his decision for revenge, but it went badly, because life is messy. I would argue that while life is messy, Shakespeare is not, and his clarity of vision and expression are fraught with intentionality.

And that his insight, when apprehended, leads us to see the ripple of truth and the wisdom of his subject in the real world as well, in ways which are useful and virtuous when rightly understood.

My read would be that the right answer, according to Shakespeare, is to “not be”, leaving direct vengeance to God while pursuing justice as best we can through other means.

With respect I think you have said literally nothing in all that. Get specific. If you think 2B is a soliloquy, what does he say that so desperately needs a special channel of communication to the audience and requires us to imagine the Ophelia can’t hear him despite being literally in his way and the spies can’t hear him despite having located themselves precisely in order to do so? Do you not think it’s possible that our failure to pin down what he says is related to our assumption that it’s a soliloquy?

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To Be or Not to Be: Analyzing Hamlet's Soliloquy

General Education

"To be, or not to be, that is the question."

It’s a line we’ve all heard at some point (and very likely quoted as a joke), but do you know where it comes from and the meaning behind the words? "To be or not to be" is actually the first line of a famous soliloquy from William Shakespeare’s play Hamle t .

In this comprehensive guide, we give you the full text of the Hamlet "To be or not to be" soliloquy and discuss everything there is to know about it, from what kinds of themes and literary devices it has to its cultural impact on society today.

Full Text: "To Be, or Not to Be, That Is the Question"

The famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy comes from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet (written around 1601) and is spoken by the titular Prince Hamlet in Act 3, Scene 1. It is 35 lines long.

Here is the full text:

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 wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action.—Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd.

You can also view a contemporary English translation of the speech here .

"To Be or Not to Be": Meaning and Analysis

The "To be or not to be" soliloquy appears in Act 3, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet . In this scene, often called the "nunnery scene," Prince Hamlet thinks about life, death, and suicide. Specifically, he wonders whether it might be preferable to commit suicide to end one's suffering and to leave behind the pain and agony associated with living.

Though he believes he is alone when he speaks, King Claudius (his uncle) and Polonius (the king’s councilor) are both in hiding, eavesdropping.

The first line and the most famous of the soliloquy raises the overarching question of the speech: "To be, or not to be," that is, "To live, or to die."

Interestingly, Hamlet poses this as a question for all of humanity rather than for only himself. He begins by asking whether it is better to passively put up with life’s pains ("the slings and arrows") or actively end it via suicide ("take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them?").

Hamlet initially argues that death would indeed be preferable : he compares the act of dying to a peaceful sleep: "And by a sleep to say we end / The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to."

However, he quickly changes his tune when he considers that nobody knows for sure what happens after death , namely whether there is an afterlife and whether this afterlife might be even worse than life. This realization is what ultimately gives Hamlet (and others, he reasons) "pause" when it comes to taking action (i.e., committing suicide).

In this sense, humans are so fearful of what comes after death and the possibility that it might be more miserable than life that they (including Hamlet) are rendered immobile.

Inspiration Behind Hamlet and "To Be or Not to Be"

Shakespeare wrote more than three dozen plays in his lifetime, including what is perhaps his most iconic, Hamlet . But where did the inspiration for this tragic, vengeful, melancholy play come from? Although nothing has been verified, rumors abound.

Some claim that the character of Hamlet was named after Shakespeare’s only son Hamnet , who died at age 11 only five years prior to his writing of Hamlet in 1601. If that's the case, the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, which explores themes of death and the afterlife, seems highly relevant to what was more than likely Shakespeare’s own mournful frame of mind at the time.

Others believe Shakespeare was inspired to explore graver, darker themes in his works due to the passing of his own father in 1601 , the same year he wrote Hamlet . This theory seems possible, considering that many of the plays Shakespeare wrote after Hamlet , such as Macbeth and Othello , adopted similarly dark themes.

Finally, some have suggested that Shakespeare was inspired to write Hamlet by the tensions that cropped up during the English Reformation , which raised questions as to whether the Catholics or Protestants held more "legitimate" beliefs (interestingly, Shakespeare intertwines both religions in the play).

These are the three central theories surrounding Shakespeare’s creation of Hamlet . While we can’t know for sure which, if any, are correct, evidently there are many possibilities — and just as likely many inspirations that led to his writing this remarkable play.

3 Critical Themes in "To Be or Not to Be"

• Doubt and uncertainty
• Life and death

Theme 1: Doubt and Uncertainty

Doubt and uncertainty play a huge role in Hamlet’s "To be or not to be" soliloquy. By this point in the play, we know that Hamlet has struggled to decide whether he should kill Claudius and avenge his father’s death .

Questions Hamlet asks both before and during this soliloquy are as follows:

• Was it really the ghost of his father he heard and saw?
• Was his father actually poisoned by Claudius?
• Should he kill Claudius?
• Should he kill himself?
• What are the consequences of killing Claudius? Of not killing him?

There are no clear answers to any of these questions, and he knows this. Hamlet is struck by indecisiveness, leading him to straddle the line between action and inaction.

It is this general feeling of doubt that also plagues his fears of the afterlife, which Hamlet speaks on at length in his "To be or not to be" soliloquy. The uncertainty of what comes after death is, to him, the main reason most people do not commit suicide; it’s also the reason Hamlet himself hesitates to kill himself and is inexplicably frozen in place .

Theme 2: Life and Death

As the opening line tells us, "To be or not to be" revolves around complex notions of life and death (and the afterlife).

Up until this point in the play, Hamlet has continued to debate with himself whether he should kill Claudius to avenge his father. He also wonders whether it might be preferable to kill himself — this would allow him to escape his own "sea of troubles" and the "slings and arrows" of life.

But like so many others, Hamlet fears the uncertainty dying brings and is tormented by the possibility of ending up in Hell —a place even more miserable than life. He is heavily plagued by this realization that the only way to find out if death is better than life is to go ahead and end it, a permanent decision one cannot take back.

Despite Hamlet's attempts to logically understand the world and death, there are some things he will simply never know until he himself dies, further fueling his ambivalence.

Theme 3: Madness

The entirety of Hamlet can be said to revolve around the theme of madness and whether Hamlet has been feigning madness or has truly gone mad (or both). Though the idea of madness doesn’t necessarily come to the forefront of "To be or not to be," it still plays a crucial role in how Hamlet behaves in this scene.

Before Hamlet begins his soliloquy, Claudius and Polonius are revealed to be hiding in an attempt to eavesdrop on Hamlet (and later Ophelia when she enters the scene). Now, what the audience doesn’t know is whether Hamlet knows he is being listened to .

If he is unaware, as most might assume he is, then we could view his "To be or not to be" soliloquy as the simple musings of a highly stressed-out, possibly "mad" man, who has no idea what to think anymore when it comes to life, death, and religion as a whole.

However, if we believe that Hamlet is aware he's being spied on, the soliloquy takes on an entirely new meaning: Hamlet could actually be feigning madness as he bemoans the burdens of life in an effort to perplex Claudius and Polonius and/or make them believe he is overwhelmed with grief for his recently deceased father.

Whatever the case, it’s clear that Hamlet is an intelligent man who is attempting to grapple with a difficult decision. Whether or not he is truly "mad" here or later in the play is up to you to decide!

4 Key Literary Devices in "To Be or Not to Be"

In the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, Shakespeare has Hamlet use a wide array of literary devices to bring more power, imagination, and emotion to the speech. Here, we look at some of the key devices used , how they’re being used, and what kinds of effects they have on the text.

#1: Metaphor

Shakespeare uses several metaphors in "To be or not to be," making it by far the most prominent literary device in the soliloquy. A metaphor is when a thing, person, place, or idea is compared to something else in non-literal terms, usually to create a poetic or rhetorical effect.

One of the first metaphors is in the line "to take arms against a sea of troubles," wherein this "sea of troubles" represents the agony of life, specifically Hamlet’s own struggles with life and death and his ambivalence toward seeking revenge. Hamlet’s "troubles" are so numerous and seemingly unending that they remind him of a vast body of water.

Another metaphor that comes later on in the soliloquy is this one: "The undiscover'd country from whose bourn / No traveller returns." Here, Hamlet is comparing the afterlife, or what happens after death, to an "undiscovered country" from which nobody comes back (meaning you can’t be resurrected once you’ve died).

This metaphor brings clarity to the fact that death truly is permanent and that nobody knows what, if anything, comes after life.

#2: Metonymy

A metonym is when an idea or thing is substituted with a related idea or thing (i.e., something that closely resembles the original idea). In "To be or not to be," Shakespeare uses the notion of sleep as a substitute for death when Hamlet says, "To die, to sleep."

Why isn’t this line just a regular metaphor? Because the act of sleeping looks very much like death. Think about it: we often describe death as an "eternal sleep" or "eternal slumber," right? Since the two concepts are closely related, this line is a metonym instead of a plain metaphor.

#3: Repetition

The phrase "to die, to sleep" is an example of repetition, as it appears once in line 5 and once in line 9 . Hearing this phrase twice emphasizes that Hamlet is really (albeit futilely) attempting to logically define death by comparing it to what we all superficially know it to be: a never-ending sleep.

This literary device also paves the way for Hamlet’s turn in his soliloquy, when he realizes that it’s actually better to compare death to dreaming because we don’t know what kind of afterlife (if any) there is.

#4: Anadiplosis

A far less common literary device, anadiplosis is when a word or phrase that comes at the end of a clause is repeated at the very beginning of the next clause.

In "To be or not to be," Hamlet uses this device when he proclaims, "To die, to sleep; / To sleep: perchance to dream." Here, the phrase "to sleep" comes at the end of one clause and at the start of the next clause.

The anadiplosis gives us a clear sense of connection between these two sentences . We know exactly what’s on Hamlet’s mind and how important this idea of "sleep" as "death" is in his speech and in his own analysis of what dying entails.

The Cultural Impact of "To Be or Not to Be"

The "To be or not to be" soliloquy in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most famous passages in English literature, and its opening line, "To be, or not to be, that is the question," is one of the most quoted lines in modern English .

Many who’ve never even read Hamlet (even though it’s said to be one of the greatest Shakespeare plays ) know about "To be or not to be." This is mainly due to the fact that the iconic line is so often quoted in other works of art and literature ⁠— even pop culture .

And it’s not just quoted, either; some people use it ironically or sarcastically .

For example, this Calvin and Hobbes comic from 1994 depicts a humorous use of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy by poking fun at its dreary, melodramatic nature.

Many movies and TV shows have references to "To be or not to be," too. In an episode of Sesame Street , famed British actor Patrick Stewart does a parodic version of the soliloquy ("B, or not a B") to teach kids the letter "B":

There’s also the 1942 movie (and its 1983 remake) To Be or Not to Be , a war comedy that makes several allusions to Shakespeare’s Hamlet . Here’s the trailer for the 1983 version:

Finally, here’s one AP English student’s original song version of "To be or not to be":

As you can see, over the more than four centuries since Hamlet first premiered, the "To be or not to be" soliloquy has truly made a name for itself and continues to play a big role in society.

Conclusion: The Legacy of Hamlet ’s "To Be or Not to Be"

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most popular, well-known plays in the world. Its iconic "To be or not to be" soliloquy, spoken by the titular Hamlet in Scene 3, Act 1, has been analyzed for centuries and continues to intrigue scholars, students, and general readers alike.

The soliloquy is essentially all about life and death : "To be or not to be" means "To live or not to live" (or "To live or to die") . Hamlet discusses how painful and miserable human life is, and how death (specifically suicide) would be preferable, would it not be for the fearful uncertainty of what comes after death.

The soliloquy contains three main themes :

It also uses four unique literary devices :

• Anadiplosis

Even today, we can see evidence of the cultural impact of "To be or not to be," with its numerous references in movies, TV shows, music, books, and art. It truly has a life of its own!

What’s Next?

In order to analyze other texts or even other parts of Hamlet effectively, you'll need to be familiar with common poetic devices , literary devices , and literary elements .

What is iambic pentameter? Shakespeare often used it in his plays —including Hamlet . Learn all about this type of poetic rhythm here .

Need help understanding other famous works of literature? Then check out our expert guides to F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , Arthur Miller's The Crucible , and quotations in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird .

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Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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To Be Or Not To Be: Hamlet’s Soliloquy Summary and Analysis

Table of Contents

To Be Or Not To Be: Hamlet’s Soliloquy Summary and Analysis 

To Be Or Not To Be: Hamlet’s Soliloquy Summary and Analysis , To Be or Not to Be | Soliloquy, Overview & Analysis, To Be or Not to Be: Analyzing Hamlet’s Soliloquy, Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1 | Shakespeare Learning Zone William Shakespeare’s timeless play, “Hamlet,” is celebrated for its profound exploration of the human psyche, and one of its most iconic moments is Hamlet’s soliloquy from Act 3, Scene 1. The soliloquy begins with the immortal words, “To be, or not to be: that is the question,” and delves into the complex nature of existence, contemplating the struggles of life, death, and the moral dilemmas that plague the protagonist, Prince Hamlet. 

Opening Lines – The Question of Existence:

The soliloquy commences with Hamlet pondering the fundamental question of existence. The juxtaposition of “To be” and “not to be” sets the stage for a contemplative exploration of life and death. Hamlet grapples with the inherent struggles of human existence, questioning whether it is nobler to endure the hardships of life or to seek relief in the unknown realm of death. The use of this dichotomy serves as a thematic anchor, inviting the audience to delve into the intricacies of mortality and the human experience.

The Perils of Endurance – The “Slings and Arrows”:

As the soliloquy unfolds, Hamlet delves into the hardships that make life a formidable journey. The famous phrase, “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” vividly captures the adversities and challenges that individuals face. This evocative language paints a picture of life’s relentless assaults, suggesting that enduring the blows of fate requires a level of resilience that may exceed the capacities of many. Hamlet’s internal struggle becomes a universal reflection on the human condition, resonating with audiences across centuries.

Contemplating Death – The “Sea of Troubles”:

The soliloquy takes a poignant turn as Hamlet contemplates the idea of death. The metaphorical expression “sea of troubles” conjures an image of life’s vast and turbulent challenges, portraying death as a tempting escape from the ceaseless waves of adversity. Hamlet grapples with the notion that death could be a sleep free from the troubles that plague the living. This contemplation marks a pivotal moment in the soliloquy, revealing Hamlet’s internal conflict and setting the stage for a deeper exploration of morality and the afterlife.

The Fear of the Unknown – “The Undiscovered Country”:

Hamlet’s contemplation of death extends to the fear of the unknown, encapsulated in the phrase “undiscovered country.” This metaphorical expression not only refers to death as an uncharted territory but also alludes to the uncertainty surrounding the afterlife. Hamlet’s hesitation to embrace death stems from the fear of what lies beyond, emphasizing the human instinct to cling to the familiar, even in the face of suffering. This fear of the unknown adds a layer of complexity to Hamlet’s internal struggle and reflects the broader human anxiety surrounding mortality.

The Dilemma of Choice – “Conscience Doth Make Cowards of Us All”:

The soliloquy reaches its emotional zenith as Hamlet grapples with the dilemma of choice. The famous line, “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,” encapsulates Hamlet’s internal conflict between action and inaction. The reference to conscience as a source of cowardice unveils the profound psychological burden that moral considerations impose on the human psyche. Hamlet’s struggle becomes emblematic of the universal tension between the desire for justice and the paralyzing effects of moral introspection.

The Irony of Fate – “Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment”:

Hamlet’s contemplation on the consequences of action or inaction introduces the irony of fate, captured in the phrase “enterprises of great pitch and moment.” This expression highlights the weightiness of significant endeavors and the potential for unforeseen outcomes. Hamlet recognizes that even the noblest intentions may lead to tragic consequences, adding a layer of fatalism to his internal turmoil. The irony lies in the juxtaposition of the importance of action with the unpredictable nature of its outcomes, creating a sense of tragic inevitability. To Be Or Not To Be: Hamlet’s Soliloquy Summary and Analysis , To Be or Not to Be | Soliloquy, Overview & Analysis

The Power of Language – “Soft You Now!”:

As the soliloquy nears its conclusion, Hamlet’s attention shifts to the immediate surroundings, providing insight into his complex character. The sudden exclamation, “Soft you now!” signals a shift from introspection to external awareness. This transition emphasizes Hamlet’s ability to navigate between profound philosophical contemplation and acute situational awareness. The interplay between the internal and external worlds showcases the multifaceted nature of Hamlet’s character and reinforces the power of language as a tool for both introspection and interaction.

Closing Reflection – The Legacy of Hamlet’s Soliloquy:

In the final lines of the soliloquy, Hamlet reflects on the consequences of inaction, acknowledging that the fear of the unknown and the complexities of life often lead individuals to endure their sufferings silently. This acknowledgment serves as a poignant commentary on the human condition, resonating across time and cultural boundaries. Hamlet’s soliloquy, with its rich tapestry of language and profound insights, continues to captivate audiences and scholars alike, leaving an indelible mark on the exploration of existential themes in literature.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Hamlet’s soliloquy is a masterful exploration of the human experience, weaving together themes of life, death, morality, and the consequences of choice. Through evocative language, metaphorical richness, and profound introspection, Shakespeare invites audiences to contemplate the complexities of existence through the lens of his tragic protagonist. Hamlet’s soliloquy stands as a timeless testament to the enduring power of Shakespeare’s language and the universal relevance of the questions it poses. To Be Or Not To Be: Hamlet’s Soliloquy Summary and Analysis , To Be or Not to Be | Soliloquy, Overview & Analysis

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Poems & Poets

Speech: “To be, or not to be, that is the question”

(from Hamlet , spoken by Hamlet)

--> directory Unlike Hamlet's first two major soliloquies, his third and most famous speech seems to be governed by reason and not frenzied emotion. Unable to do little but wait for completion of his plan to "catch the conscience of the king", Hamlet sparks an internal philosophical debate on the advantages and disadvantages of existence, and whether it is one's right to end his or her own life. Some scholars limit Hamlet's discussion to a deliberation of whether he should take his own life. "Yet nothing anywhere in the speech relates it to Hamlet's individual case. He uses the pronouns and , the indefinite , the impersonal infinitive. He speaks explicitly of , of what is heir to, of what suffer at the hands of or - which serves incidentally to indicate what for Hamlet is meant by " (Jenkins 489). Hamlet asks the question for all dejected souls -- is it nobler to live miserably or to end one's sorrows with a single stroke? He knows that the answer would be undoubtedly if death were like a dreamless sleep. The or obstacle Hamlet faces is the fear of (74), i.e. the (86). Hamlet is well aware that suicide is condemned by the church as a mortal sin. Hamlet's soliloquy is interrupted by who is saying her prayers. Hamlet addresses her as , a courtly salutation common in the Renaissance . Some critics argue that Hamlet's greeting is strained and coolly polite, and his request that she remembers him in her prayers is sarcastic. However, others claim that Hamlet, emerging from his moment of intense personal reflection, genuinely implores the gentle and innocent Ophelia to pray for him. It is fascinating to compare Shakespeare's finished masterpiece to the version found in the (or Q1) published by Nicholas Ling and John Trundell in 1603: Q1 was likely a product of the memories of actors who had staged and, in 1604, a new version appeared (Q2), based on Shakespeare's own manuscript, complete with the soliloquy as we know it. For an absolutely remarkable interpretation of Hamlet's soliloquy, please watch the starring Sir Derek Jacobi, available in its entirety from the BBC on YouTube. You can find it at 1:25:30. See also 2.1.245, 4.1.132; 5.4.12. Mabillard, Amanda. . . 20 Aug. 2000. Shakespeare, William. . Ed. Harold Jenkins. London: Methuen, 1982. ___________ : Hamlet and Divine Justice , A. C. Bradey notes that "The present position of the 'To be or not to be' soliloquy, and of the interview with Ophelia, appears to have been due to an after-thought of Shakespeare's; for in the First Quarto they precede, instead of following, the arrival of the players, and consequently the arrangement for the play-scene. This is a notable instance of the truth that 'inspiration' is by no means confined to a poet's first conceptions." Does the position of Hamlet's soliloquy make a difference? In writing , Shakespeare is said to have been influenced by the work of French essayist, Michael de Montaigne, translated by an acquaintance of Shakespeare named John Florio. Montagine's essays on moral philosophy might have shaped many passages in , including Hamlet's most famous soliloquy. Could Montaigne be the reason the first and second quartos of the play are , especially regarding Hamlet's propensity to delay? . 'To Be, or Not to Be:' Exploring Shakespeare's Legendary Quote Why is this Shakespeare speech so famous? Vasiliki Varvaki / E+ / Getty Images Shakespeare's Life and World Best Sellers Classic Literature Plays & Drama Short Stories Children's Books M.A., Theater Studies, Warwick University B.A., Drama and English, DeMontfort University Even if you have never seen a Shakespeare play, you will know this famous "Hamlet" quote: “To be, or not to be.” But what makes this speech so renowned, and what inspired the world's most famous playwright to include it in this work? “To be, or not to be” is the opening line of a soliloquy in the nunnery scene of Shakespeare’s "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." A melancholy Hamlet is contemplating death and suicide while waiting for his lover Ophelia. He bemoans the challenges of life but contemplates that the alternative—death—could be worse. The speech explores Hamlet’s confused mindset as he considers murdering his Uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlet's father and then married his mother to become king in his place. Throughout the play, Hamlet has hesitated to kill his uncle and avenge his father’s death. Hamlet was likely written between 1599 and 1601; by that time, Shakespeare had honed his skills as a writer and learned how to write introspectively to portray the inner thoughts of a tortured mind. He would have almost certainly seen versions of "Hamlet" before writing his own, as it pulls from the Scandinavian legend of Amleth. Still, the brilliance of Shakespeare’s take on the tale is that he conveys the protagonist's inner thoughts so eloquently. Family Death Shakespeare lost his son, Hamnet, in August 1596, when the child was just 11 years old. Sadly, it was not uncommon to lose children in Shakespeare’s time, but as Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet must have forged a relationship with his father despite him working regularly in London. Some argue that Hamlet’s speech of whether to endure the tortures of life or just end it could offer insight into Shakespeare’s own thinking in his time of grief. Perhaps that is why the speech is so universally well-received—an audience can feel the real emotion in Shakespeare’s writing and perhaps relate to this feeling of helpless despair. Multiple Interpretations The famous speech is open to many different interpretations, often expressed by placing emphasis on different parts of the opening line. This was demonstrated comically at the Royal Shakespeare Company's 400-year celebration performance when a range of actors known for their work with the play (including David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Sir Ian McKellan), took to instructing each other on the best ways to perform the soliloquy. Their different approaches all exhibit the different, nuanced meanings that can be found in the speech. Why It Resonates Religious reforms. Shakespeare’s audience would have experienced religious reforms where most would have had to convert from Catholicism to Protestantism or risk being executed. This throws up doubts about practicing religion, and the speech may have posed questions about what and who to believe when it comes to the afterlife. "To be a Catholic or not to be a Catholic" becomes the question. You have been brought up to believe in a faith, and then suddenly you are told that if you continue to believe in it you may be killed. Being forced to change your belief system can certainly cause inner turmoil and insecurity. Because faith continues to be a subject of contention to this day, it is still a relevant lens through which to understand the speech. Universal Questions The philosophical nature of the speech also makes it appealing: None of us know what comes after this life and there is a fear of that unknown, but we are all also aware at times of the futility of life and its injustices. Sometimes, like Hamlet, we wonder what our purpose here is. Study Shakespeare List of Phrases Shakespeare Invented How to Read Shakespeare Dialogue Aloud The Roles of Women in Shakespeare's Plays A Complete List of the Tragedies of William Shakespeare Plays Written by Shakespeare Fun and Creative Ways to Celebrate Shakespeare's Birthday What Was Shakespeare's First Play? What Was the First Play Shakespeare Wrote? Examples of Iambic Pentameter in Shakespeare's Plays What Types of Plays Did Shakespeare Write? Why Is William Shakespeare so Famous? An Introduction to Prose in Shakespeare A Guide to the Sonnets of William Shakespeare Academic Speculation on the Year Shakespeare Wrote ‘Romeo and Juliet’ How Many Plays Did Shakespeare Write? National Poetry Month Materials for Teachers Literary Seminars American Poets Magazine Main navigation Academy of American Poets User account menu Find and share the perfect poems. Page submenu block literary seminars materials for teachers poetry near you Hamlet, Act III, Scene I [To be, or not to be] Add to anthology. 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 wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action.—Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd. More by this poet My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun (sonnet 130). My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene I [O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth] Antony speaks over Caesar's body The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I [The quality of mercy is not strained] The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: 'T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown: His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, Hamlet, Act I, Scene I [Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes] Marcellus to Horatio and Bernardo, after seeing the Ghost , Newsletter Sign Up Academy of American Poets Newsletter Academy of American Poets Educator Newsletter Teach This Poem Are you seeking one-on-one college counseling and/or essay support? Limited spots are now available. Click here to learn more. To Be or Not to Be: Expert Analysis of Hamlet’s Soliloquy for Teens June 7, 2023 From Calvin and Hobbes to Star Trek to The Simpsons, Hamlet’s soliloquy “To Be or Not To Be” is one of the most commonly cited lines of Shakespeare. But beyond the evocative first line, what is the underlying meaning and analysis? We will dive into an analysis of Hamlet’s soliloquy shortly but first some brief context. Hamlet Summary – Putting “To Be or Not to Be” in context The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark , more often referred to simply as Hamlet, is one of the English playwright William Shakespeare’s most well-known plays. It was written likely between 1599 and 1601. The play centers on Prince Hamlet, who is distraught with grief around his father’s murder. At the start of the play, Hamlet is confronted by his father’s ghost who informs him that the king was murdered by the king’s own brother (Hamlet’s uncle), Claudius, who has inherited the throne and married his widow (and Hamlet’s mother), Gertrude. While at first singularly committed to avenging his father’s death, Hamlet’s contemplative nature causes him to oscillate between the desire to act immediately and melancholic reluctance, rageful vengeance, and existential despair. This context helps us understand the tense conundrums expounded upon in this soliloquy. However, as one can see from its widespread citation, one can also perform an analysis of Hamlet’s soliloquy “To Be or Not To Be” on its own. What is a Soliloquy? A soliloquy is a specific kind of monologue. It entails a single character speaking for a period of time while alone. In other words, the character is talking aloud to themselves. (For more examples and explanations of “soliloquy”, check out this link !). Now let’s walk through the text itself. Hamlet’s Soliloquy – Meaning & Analysis He begins with that well-known line: “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” Already the stakes are high. Hamlet is essentially asking whether to choose life or death, being or not being, endurance or suicide. He goes on to say “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?” This elaborates and complicates on the binary of life or death set up in the first line. He wonders if would be more honorable to endure the suffering he faces due to his terrible and painful “fortune” or to end both his life and troubles in one fell swoop. Take note as well of the military figurative language peppered throughout his personal monologue, such as in words like “noble,” “take arms,” and “the slings and arrows.” As a prince embroiled in royal drama, his intimate woes are entangled with the national politics. Often, this means bloody war. Furthermore, the metaphors signal that there is a war within his own mind due to his agonizing situation. While desiring relief from life’s suffering, he is not totally resolved to die. He turns to contemplate death, saying: “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 wish’d.” He equates death to sleep, where suicide is framed not as violent but as a restful space that ends the “heart-ache” and pain he endures in wakeful life. The isolation of “No more” is emphatic and multifaceted. It signals both no more life and no more suffering. He also emphasizes the many forms of pain he desires respite from. There is the “thousand natural shocks” that, through the word natural, evoke an inevitable yet immense pain and then there is the “heart-ache” that appears more intentional and singular in the specific murder of his father. His father’s death and his princely position is further invoked through the word “heir,” given that he is the heir to his father’s crown. Death is a desired (“devoutly…wish’d”) ending (“consummation”) to these manifold sufferings. “To Be or Not to Be” Soliloquy- Meaning & Analysis (Continued) The poetics surface through the use of anaphora—repetition of a word or phrase at the start of a line. Hamlet repeats the lines “to die, to sleep,” emphasizing the equation between death and sleep, while also using repetition in a lullaby-like fashion through the songlike refrain. He proceeds to say: “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause: there’s the respect / That makes calamity of so long life.” For the agonizing  Prince, life (“this mortal coil”) is equated to “calamity” while death is equated to dreaming. But this portion is not merely repetition of his previous aspiration for relief through death. He is beginning to hypothesize why people continue to live in spite of such agonies. In this section, he conjectures that people might continue to suffer “so long”  because they don’t know “what dreams may come” on the other side of life. In other words, people might rather suffer than risk the unknown. He continues to contemplate why people endure suffering: ”For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, / The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, / The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, / The insolence of office and the spurns / That patient merit of the unworthy takes, / When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?” He wonders how people can “bear” myriad injustices, ranging from the more general “whips and scorns of time” to oppressive acts to difficulty in love to the inaction of the law, and so on. Note again how the most personal matters (“the pangs of despised love”) enmesh with broader structural failings (such as “the law’s delay”). Hamlet sees pain and injustice at every scale—the personal, the political, the individual, and the societal. Hamlet views himself as the victim of legal and personal corruption. Of course, the two are heightened and enmeshed; his father’s murder by his uncle lives at the intersection of both. It is an open-ended question for the reader/audience as to whether Hamlet is accurately assessing his life’s misfortunes or if he is exaggeratedly framing himself as a victim. Is Hamlet totally at the mercy of unjust forces or does he have agency to change his fortune? Can Hamlet access agency from within grief and despair? Following this litany of life’s woes, Hamlet shifts from the desire to escape suffering to the fear of the unknown. He asks: “who would fardels bear, / To grunt and sweat under a weary life, / But that the dread of something after death, / The undiscover’d country from whose bourn / No traveller returns, puzzles the will / And makes us rather bear those ills we have / Than fly to others that we know not of?” He essentially argues the no one would grunt through such burdens (“fardels”) if it were not for a fear of what happens after one dies. Death, while an unknown, is a final place from which “no traveller returns.” The choice to live is framed as something that “puzzles the will,” derived from the pressures of “dread” at the uncertainty of what comes after. In some ways, he is arguing the choice to live arises from adherence to the age old maxim “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” This confounds typical narratives and philosophies around the will to live. Endurance of suffering is not framed as a valiant force of the will prevailing against larger forces. It is instead framed as submission to fear of the unknown. Even the word “fly” implies a sort of agency and freedom in death. The choice is not quite between life and death but between the known and the unknown. Hamlet’s speech forces the listener to contend with existential questions by reversing typical narratives that yoke life to agency and death to passivity. Instead, he prods at the theory that to live is to be passive in the face of human fear of randomness and chance at the unknown of death. This does not mean that he is bluntly choosing death over life, but interrogating the terms of life and death from within a space of grief and betrayal. His grief and betrayal dismantles his trust in the justice of personal, political, and legal systems. This forces readers to ask whether he is expanding his personal misfortunes to a falsely universal level or if these experiences have opened his eyes to extant and entrenched corruption abound. Following this string of rhetorical questions, he says: “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; / And thus the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, / And enterprises of great pith and moment / With this regard their currents turn awry, / And lose the name of action.” One could interpret the adage-like phrase “conscience does make cowards of us all” to mean that conscience’s fear of death turns all into cowards. However, another interpretation based on the previous rhetorical questions could expand to mean that it is rather the fear of the unknown that reduces everyone to cowards. By virtue of saying “all,” Hamlet includes himself in this category, thus revealing that he has chosen life. Nevertheless, he frames the choice of life as the cowardly choice. The lack of virtue in his choice is underscored through the phrase “the native hue of resolution / is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought.” He depicts his resolution or thought process as sickly and pale. His thoughts render him weak. He loses “the name of action” and becomes swept up, indecisive, and ineffectual. Indeed, the form of the soliloquy mirrors its content. The soliloquy “To Be Or Not To Be” seems to frame the question increasingly inwards around Hamlet’s own desire to live or to die. He is solo and he is in many ways thinking mostly about his own decision to take his life or continue forth. Yet the theme of life or death also extends toward his potential actions. Were he to kill Claudius, his uncle who he believes slaughtered his father, and Hamlet believes that life is cowardly suffering, then is it a gift to give death to his uncle? Even though it is fraught, Hamlet ultimately decides to continue to live and continue his plot to seek vengeance upon his uncle. He then notices his conflictual love interest, “The fair Ophelia” approaching. This ends the soliloquy on the level of plot, because he is interrupted, and on the level of form, because he is no longer alone. The speech forces us to question the idea of agency in life, within Hamlet’s perspective and beyond. Is it more cowardly to live or to die? Do we access agency more by living amidst suffering or by choosing death? This theme intersects with and diverges from what later would come to be termed Existentialism, a branch of philosophy associated most closely with 19th and 20th-century European thinkers. Existentialism typically contends with whether life itself has inherent meaning or is essentially random. Hamlet questions life’s value and significance, and ultimately assigns life neither meaning nor lack thereof but rather a position of passivity, struggle, and powerlessness. Hamlet views life as a known entity of struggle while it is death that contains randomness and chance. Furthermore, by highlighting the way Hamlet uses metaphors of war to describe his internal turmoil and comingled grievances of the state and of the intimate, we can see how the speech is making an argument potentially about politics and individual power. If the state is corrupt, do individuals have the power to change that corruption? Or do individuals lack the power to do anything but suffer under endlessly corrupt systems? Would it be more willful to endure or to exit the system entirely? Hamlet’s role as a Prince collapses the personal and the political. He simply cannot separate his personal relationships (father-son, lovers, uncle-nephew, et cetera) from their political valences (king, prince, queen, et cetera). Hamlet’s own ability to reason is thrown into question. In addition to his pretend madness, this speech thematizes how his utter grief and despair affect his ability to reason. The repetition of sleeping and dreaming connotes a relation between death and peacefulness, while also evoking the underlying surreality that penetrates waking life. Is Hamlet’s view of reality clear and rational? Or is his reality clouded by how the nightmarish circumstances have affected his ability to be reasonable? In this way, a central theme of the play/soliloquy is the struggle to determine what is truly real. What is reality, what is belief, what is madness, what is dream? Hamlet’s soliloquy also makes us ask how we decipher fact from fiction, reality from performance. The play and this soliloquy in particular make use of the theatrical fictive frame. Hamlet has decided to act as if he has gone mad as part of his plan to exact revenge and extract information. Yet clearly his suicidal ideation makes us wonder if his grasp on reality has been actually shaken. The central part of his plan involves staging a play that contains a similar murder plot as the one he believes Claudius commited against his father. Hamlet intends to observe Claudius’ reaction to determine his guilt. These elements of a ‘ play within a play ’ structure and the fictive character of Hamlet deciding to intentionally put in a ‘fake’ act within the already existing performance of an actor make us question what is reality and what is a performance. Is Hamlet’s character actually mad or is he acting mad? To Be or Not to Be – Parting Thoughts We, as readers, are put in the hot seat. In our analysis of Hamlet’s soliloquy “To Be Or Not To Be” we are reading the words for an actor pretending to play Hamlet pretending to go mad. Where do you, as a reader, stand? A rich exercise to go even deeper is to listen to several performances of the soliloquy after analyzing the text. This will allow you to see how different actors interpret “To Be Or Not To Be” through their performance! Additional Resources If you enjoyed this article, you may benefit from checking out other blogs in our High School Success section including: 30 Literary Devices High School Students Should Know 20 Rhetorical Devices High School Students Should Know Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken – Analysis and Meaning Great Gatsby Themes & Analysis  High School Success An experienced instructor, editor, and writer, Rebecca earned a BA in English from Columbia University and is presently pursuing a PhD at the CUNY Graduate Center in English. Her writing has been featured on The Millions , poets.org , The Poetry Project Newsletter , Nightboat Books blog, and more, and she received the Academy of American Poets Poetry Prize and Arthur E. Ford Prize for her poetry collections.  2-Year Colleges ADHD/LD/Autism/Executive Functioning Application Strategies Best Colleges by Major Best Colleges by State Big Picture Career & Personality Assessment College Essay College Search/Knowledge College Success Costs & Financial Aid Data Visualizations Dental School Admissions Extracurricular Activities Graduate School Admissions High Schools Homeschool Resources Law School Admissions Medical School Admissions Navigating the Admissions Process Online Learning Outdoor Adventure Private High School Spotlight Research Programs Summer Program Spotlight Summer Programs Teacher Tools Test Prep Provider Spotlight “Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.” — Lynn O'Shaughnessy Nationally Recognized College Expert College Planning in Your Inbox Join our information-packed monthly newsletter. Search This Blog Inside a.c.t.. Insights on creating dynamic productions, training theater artists, and engaging our community at American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco's premier nonprofit theater company. “To Be or Not to Be”: The Iconic Speech’s Origins, Interpretations, and Impact ’s "To be or not to be" speech as it appears in the three original editions of the play. Photo by Georgelazenby. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Popular posts from this blog The american sound: the evolution of jazz. Purely Pinteresque: The Elements of Pinter's Language Kamala Harris Addresses Economy In Speech—Here’s What To Know About Her Policy Agenda Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled more details about her economic agenda in a speech Friday in North Carolina, proposing an “opportunity economy” as the Democratic nominee focused on lowering the price of groceries and prescription drugs and addressing the housing crisis with an eye on bolstering the middle class. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, N.C., on Aug. 16. Grocery Prices: The candidate would work in her first 100 days to help Congress pass a national ban on “price gouging” for food and groceries, as well as give the Federal Trade Commission and prosecutors authority to go after companies they determine price gouge, support small businesses in the industry, take a closer look at mergers between big grocery companies and “aggressively” investigate price-fixing in meat supply chains specifically. Housing Costs: Harris wants to provide $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time home buyers and is calling for the creation of three million new housing units within the next four years, proposing a tax credit for developers who build starter homes and investing $40 million in an innovation fund to tackle the housing crisis. Rental Costs: Harris would also expand a tax credit for housing developers who build affordable housing rental units, and is calling on Congress to pass legislation that would stop predatory investors who buy up rental homes and collude with each other to raise rental prices. Child Tax Credit: Harris proposed giving families a $6,000 tax credit for newborns in their first year of life, and restore a pandemic-era tax credit of $3,600 per child for middle and lower-class families. Taxes: Harris also wants to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for workers in lower-income jobs, which would cut taxes by up to $1,250, and has previously said she would continue President Joe Biden’s promise not to raise taxes on American households earning $400,000 or less annually, and does support raising taxes for high earners and corporations, according to The New York Times. No Tax On Tips: Harris has separately endorsed a plan to get rid of taxes on tips for hospitality and service workers, echoing a proposal by former President Donald Trump—which has been criticized by some experts—though a campaign official told CNN tips would still be subject to payroll taxes, and would include an income limit and guardrails to prevent people like hedge fund managers from taking advantage of the policy. Prescription Drug Prices: Harris proposed a $35 cap on insulin and capping out-of-pocket expenses on prescription drugs at $2,000 per year on Friday, also saying she would speed up Medicare negotiations on the price of prescription drugs—after the Biden administration announced a deal lowering costs on 10 medications—and crack down on anti-competitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry that cause higher prices. Healthcare: The Harris campaign also announced her intention to work with states to cancel Americans’ medical debt, and she proposed expanding subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans that would save health insurance customers an average of $700 on their health insurance premiums. Paid Leave: Harris has not released a specific paid leave proposal, but she has previously co-sponsored 12-week paid leave legislation, Politico notes, with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., telling the outlet, “I absolutely believe that when they are in office, we will get a paid leave bill done finally.” Minimum Wage: Harris called for raising the minimum wage in a Las Vegas speech earlier in August, but her campaign has not specified how high she believes it should be raised. Fed Independence: Harris has vowed to maintain the Federal Reserve’s independence after Trump said he believed “the president should have at least [a] say” on the Federal Reserve’s decisions, with Harris telling reporters, “The Fed is an independent entity and as president I would never interfere in the decisions that the Fed makes.” Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here . Crucial Quote Harris said Friday she’d be “laser focused on creating opportunities for the middle class” if elected president, calling for “an economy where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed.” “Now is the time to chart a new way forward, to build an America where everyone’s work is rewarded and talents are valued, where we work with labor and business to strengthen the American economy, and where everyone has the opportunity not only to get by, but to get ahead,” the vice president said. What To Watch For Harris said in her North Carolina speech that she intends to unveil more economic proposals in the weeks ahead. The vice president has still not issued a full policy platform or unveiled proposals for policy issues beyond the economy, and those are also expected in the near future. How Do Harris’ Policies Compare With Biden’s? Harris’ economic policy agenda is largely in line with Biden’s economic platform, with some tweaks to emphasize causes that are more important to her, like the child tax credit. “Same values, different vision,” a Harris aide told The Guardian. “She’s not moving far away from him on substance, she will highlight the ones that matter most to her.” The initial plans from Harris’ campaign also suggest the vice president plans to be more aggressive in her policy approaches than Biden, however, as polls have suggested voters hold dim views of how the president has handled the economy. While Biden has also opposed price gouging, Harris’ proposal to enable the FTC and U.S. attorneys to go after companies that hike up prices goes beyond what the president has proposed, Politico notes , and her proposed $40 million investment in the housing crisis is double the amount the Biden administration spent. Harris’ economic agenda released Friday didn’t go fully in depth about her proposals, which The New York Times reports is by design. The Times reported prior to Harris’ speech that the Harris campaign has adopted a “strategic vagueness” for her economic proposals, believing that being more of a “blank slate” will help ward off attacks and attract more support from business groups. How Do Harris’ Policies Compare With Trump’s? Trump’s economic agenda is largely focused on raising tariffs on imported goods, which Harris has said she opposes. The ex-president has also called for cutting taxes and regulations in hopes of lowering inflation, including lowering the corporate tax rate, and has encouraged increasing oil production in order to lower energy prices. In addition to his “no tax on tips” proposal that Harris has also endorsed, Trump has called for ending taxes on Social Security benefits, which Harris has not yet responded to. Experts believe the ex-president’s proposal could speed up Social Security and Medicare becoming insolvent, with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projecting exempting taxes on benefits would result in Social Security and Medicare receiving $1.6 trillion less in revenue between 2026 and 2035. The Trump campaign opposed reports of Harris’ economic proposals Wednesday, with spokesperson Steven Cheung saying in a statement, “Kamala Harris can’t hide from her disastrous record of skyrocketing inflation … Americans are struggling under the Biden-Harris economy, and now she wants to gaslight them into believing her bald-faced lies.” 42%. That’s the share of voters who trust Harris more to handle the economy, according to a Financial Times/University of Michigan poll released Sunday, versus 41% who trust Trump more. That’s down from Trump holding a six-point lead over Biden in July, though the poll also showed 42% believe a Trump presidency would leave them better off financially, while only 33% said the same for Harris. Key Background Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in July after Biden stepped down suddenly from the presidential race, following weeks of pressure over mounting concerns about his mental fitness. While the vice president has quickly garnered Democrats’ support and risen in the polls, Harris has released few concrete policy proposals in the first few weeks of her campaign—drawing some criticism as a result—with her speech Friday expected to be the most substantive remarks she’s given on policy so far. Her focus on the economy comes as polling has repeatedly shown it’s the most important issue to voters in this election cycle, with the vice president hoping to attract support amid low approval ratings for Biden’s handling of the economy. Harris’ speech also comes days after news that inflation fell in July to its lowest point in more than three years, with federal data released Wednesday showing inflation at 2.9% in July, the first time it’s been below 3% since March 2021. Further Reading Editorial Standards Reprints & Permissions Join The Conversation One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.  Forbes Community Guidelines Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space. In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's  Terms of Service.   We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil. 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Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's  Terms of Service. When does the 2024 DNC start? See full week schedule, how to watch and livestream The 2024 Democratic National Convention begins Monday in Chicago with President Joe Biden speaking during the opening night of the convention. The convention's first night will pay tribute to the 81-year-old Democratic president, who last month ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee. Other Democratic heavyweights, such as Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton, are also expected to speak at the convention. Obama is expected to speak Tuesday night while former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to speak Wednesday night before vice presidential nominee Tim Walz , the governor of Minnesota, gives his address. NBC News reported that President Jimmy Carter's grandson Jason Carter will speak on behalf of his grandfather. The DNC speaker schedule is subject to change and a full list of speakers will be released at a later time. Here's what you need to know about the 2024 DNC, including the full schedule and how to watch. Black women in charge at 2024 DNC: Black women are in charge at this year's DNC. Expect a different kind of convention. 2024 DNC speakers: Biden, Obama, Clintons to headline Democratic National Convention speakers When is the 2024 DNC? The DNC is scheduled to run August 19-22 at the United Center in Chicago. How to watch and stream the 2024 DNC The DNC will livestream events across multiple online platforms. USA TODAY will provide livestream coverage on YouTube  each night of the DNC, Monday through Thursday. Each television network will handle coverage slightly differently. Here's a breakdown of the major networks and their coverage plans for the DNC: C-SPAN  will carry the entire convention uninterrupted for all four days. CBS News ' primetime coverage of the convention will air Monday through Thursday from 8-11 p.m. ET and be anchored by "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell. ABC News will air one hour of primetime coverage from 10-11 p.m. ET on Monday and Tuesday, and two hours on Wednesday and Thursday, from 9-11 p.m. ET. ABC News Live, the network's streaming news channel, will stream primetime coverage from 7 p.m.-midnight all four days. Fox News will present a nightly hourlong special titled "Fox News Democracy 2024: The Democratic National Convention" each day Monday through Thursday at 10 p.m. ET, co-anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. CNN will provide nearly 24/7 live on-air coverage of the DNC, including special live coverage each night from 8 p.m.-midnight ET with "CNN Democratic National Convention." NewsNation will have special primetime coverage entitled "Decision Desk 2024: The Democratic National Convention," which will air each day from 8 p.m.-midnight ET. It will be co-anchored by Chris Cuomo, Elizabeth Vargas and Leland Vittert. NBC News will stream the convention on its streaming platform, NBC News Now, as part of its "Decision 2024" broadcast. Coverage will air from 10-11 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and 9-11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and will be led by Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie, according to the New York Times . MSNBC will air special coverage from 8 p.m. to midnight each night and will also livestream all four days of the convention on its YouTube channel, the New York Times reports. Keeping up with Election 2024? Sign up for USA TODAY's On Politics newsletter. Full 2024 DNC schedule Here's a look at the full schedule for the 2024 DNC by day. Note: All times listed are in Central Time. Monday, August 19 7 a.m.-9:30 a.m.: Delegation breakfasts 9 a.m.-10a.m.: Morning press briefing 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Black Caucus meeting 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Hispanic Caucus meeting 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: AAPI Caucus meeting 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Native American Caucus meeting 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Ethnic Council meeting 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: LGBTQ+ Caucus meeting 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Small Business Council meeting 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Labor Council meeting 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Environmental & Climate Crisis Council meeting 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m.: Main programming Tuesday, August 20 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Women's Caucus meeting 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Disability Caucus meeting 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Youth Council meeting 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Rural Council meeting 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Veterans & Military Families Council meeting 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Poverty Council meeting 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Interfaith Council meeting 6 p.m.-10 p.m.: Main programming Wednesday, August 21 1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Seniors Council meeting Thursday, August 22 Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X  @GabeHauari  or email him at [email protected]. Advertisement Supported by News analysis Harris and Trump Offer a Clear Contrast on the Economy Both candidates embrace expansions of government power to steer economic outcomes — but in vastly different areas. Share full article By Jim Tankersley Jim Tankersley has covered economic policy in presidential elections since 2004. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump flew to North Carolina this week to deliver what were billed as major speeches on the economy. Neither laid out a comprehensive policy plan — not Ms. Harris in her half-hour focus on housing, groceries and prescription drugs, nor Mr. Trump in 80 minutes of sprinkling various proposals among musings about dangerous immigrants. But in their own ways, both candidates sent voters clear and important messages about their economic visions. Each embraced a vision of a powerful federal government, using its muscle to intervene in markets in pursuit of a stronger and more prosperous economy. They just disagreed, almost entirely, on when and how that power should be used. In Raleigh on Friday, Ms. Harris began to put her own stamp on the brand of progressive economics that has come to dominate Democratic politics over the last decade. That economic thinking embraces the idea that the federal government must act aggressively to foster competition and correct distortions in private markets. The approach seeks large tax increases on corporations and high earners, to fund assistance for low-income and middle-class workers who are struggling to build wealth for themselves and their children. At the same time, it provides big tax breaks to companies engaged in what Ms. Harris and other progressives see as delivering great economic benefit — like manufacturing technologies needed to fight global warming , or building affordable housing. That philosophy animated the policy agenda that Ms. Harris unveiled on Friday. She pledged to send up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance to every first-time home buyer over four years, while directing $40 billion to construction companies that build starter homes. She said she would permanently reinstate an expanded child tax credit that President Biden temporarily established with his 2021 stimulus law, while offering even more assistance to parents of newborns. She called for a federal ban on corporate price gouging on groceries and for new federal enforcement tools to punish companies that unfairly push up food prices. “My plan will include new penalties for opportunistic companies that exploit crises and break the rules,” she said, adding: “We will help the food industry become more competitive, because I believe competition is the lifeblood of our economy.” We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber?  Log in . Want all of The Times?  Subscribe . 373 IMAGES Hamlet "To be or not to be..." Annotated “To Be or Not to Be”: The Iconic Speech’s Origins, Interpretations, and To Be or Not To Be Hamlet's "To Be, or Not to Be" Soliloquy and Summary To Be or Not to Be To Be or Not To Be COMMENTS A Summary and Analysis of Shakespeare's 'To be or not to be' soliloquy Hamlet tells us what the speech is about in lines 2-5, where he explains what he means by "To be or not to be". He means that there are two options for him: these options are: in lines 2-3, to put up with random unpleasantness from Claudius and others; in lines 4-5, to actually do something, viz. to take up arms, to fight, and possibly ... Hamlet's 'To be, or not to be' Soliloquy To be, or not to be, that is the question: The first line of Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be, or nor to be" is one of the best-known quotes from all the Shakespearean works combined. In the play, "Hamlet" the tragic hero expresses this soliloquy to the audience in Act 3, Scene 1. As the plots reflect, Hamlet is facing an existential crisis ... Hamlet's "To Be, or Not to Be" Soliloquy and Summary Hamlet's desperate question, "To be, or not to be," occurs in Act 3, Scene 1, and is the most famous and celebrated because of its philosophical nature, questioning life and death-in short, existence. Hamlet's dilemma is whether it is worth it to exist, and he weighs life's worth against the nothingness of nonexistence as he toys with the ... 'To Be Or Not To Be': Hamlet's Soliloquy With Analysis ️ Hamlet's 'To Be Or Not To Be' Speech, Act 3 Scene 1. 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, ... Not a bad summary but some mistakes. 1) The first line is not a chiasmus: in a chiasmus, as you correctly illustrate, each part has two elements and ... To Be or Not to Be: Analyzing Hamlet's Soliloquy · PrepScholar William Shakespeare's Hamlet is one of the most popular, well-known plays in the world. Its iconic "To be or not to be" soliloquy, spoken by the titular Hamlet in Scene 3, Act 1, has been analyzed for centuries and continues to intrigue scholars, students, and general readers alike. The soliloquy is essentially all about life and death: "To ... Summary of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy In Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy, he contemplates the nature of existence and the appeal of death as an escape from life's suffering. He debates whether it is nobler to endure life's ... Analysis and Summary of Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" Soliloquy In Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy, he contemplates the nature of existence and the pain of life versus the fear of the unknown in death. He weighs the suffering of life against the ... To be, or not to be Comparison of the "To be, or not to be" speech in the first three editions of Hamlet, showing the varying quality of the text in the Bad Quarto, the Good Quarto and the First Folio "To be, or not to be" is a speech given by Prince Hamlet in the so-called "nunnery scene" of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1). The speech is named for the opening phrase, itself among the most ... To Be Or Not To Be: Hamlet's Soliloquy Summary and Analysis The soliloquy commences with Hamlet pondering the fundamental question of existence. The juxtaposition of "To be" and "not to be" sets the stage for a contemplative exploration of life and death. Hamlet grapples with the inherent struggles of human existence, questioning whether it is nobler to endure the hardships of life or to seek ... Speech: "To be, or not to be, that is the question" Speech: "To be, or not to be, that is the question". By William Shakespeare. (from Hamlet, spoken by Hamlet) 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. Hamlet's Soliloquies: To be, or not to be Points to Ponder In his book Shakespearean Tragedy, A. C. Bradey notes that "The present position of the 'To be or not to be' soliloquy, and of the interview with Ophelia, appears to have been due to an after-thought of Shakespeare's; for in the First Quarto they precede, instead of following, the arrival of the players, and consequently the arrangement for the play-scene. Hamlet Soliloquy To be or not to be with Commentary Hamlet's Soliloquy: To be, or not to be: that is the question (3.1) Unlike Hamlet's first two major soliloquies, his third and most famous speech seems to be governed by reason and not frenzied emotion. Unable to do little but wait for completion of his plan to "catch the conscience of the king", Hamlet sparks an internal philosophical debate ... Analysis of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy In Hamlet's speech from Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act 3.1.56-88), the "to be" Hamlet says refers to existence: Hamlet is asking, to exist, or not to exist, that is the question. To Be or Not to Be (Soliloquy from Hamlet) Summary & Analysis The "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy from William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is one of the most famous and often quoted speeches in the English literary canon. This soliloquy is delivered by the titular character, Prince Hamlet, in Act 3, Scene 1. It is a deeply introspective and philosophical monologue that delves into the complex ... 'To Be, or Not to Be:' Shakespeare's Legendary Speech Hamlet. "To be, or not to be" is the opening line of a soliloquy in the nunnery scene of Shakespeare's "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." A melancholy Hamlet is contemplating death and suicide while waiting for his lover Ophelia. He bemoans the challenges of life but contemplates that the alternative—death—could be worse. Hamlet, Act III, Scene I [To be, or not to be] 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 wish'd. To Be or Not to Be The 'To Be or Not to Be' soliloquy is one of the most famous scenes in English literature. It appears in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. A soliloquy is defined as a speech that a character ... To Be or Not to Be: Expert Analysis of Hamlet's Soliloquy for Teens We will dive into an analysis of Hamlet's soliloquy shortly but first some brief context. Hamlet Summary - Putting "To Be or Not to Be" in context. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, more often referred to simply as Hamlet, is one of the English playwright William Shakespeare's most well-known plays. It was written likely ... "To Be or Not to Be": The Iconic Speech's Origins, Interpretations, and The opening line of Hamlet 's "To be or not to be" soliloquy is theater's most iconic, most referenced quote. What's less known is the famous speech's history, with Hamlet 's earliest publications offering varying versions of its language. Also questioned is its meaning—is Hamlet contemplating suicide or is he weighing the ... Kamala Harris' Economic Platform: What We Know As She Delivers Speech Harris' speech also comes days after news that inflation fell in July to its lowest point in more than three years, with federal data released Wednesday showing inflation at 2.9% in July, the ... The meaning, theme, context, and summary of Hamlet's "To be or not to Summary: Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy explores the theme of existentialism and the meaning of life and death. Hamlet contemplates the nature of existence, the pain and suffering of life ... Hillary Clinton returns to Democratic convention as reminder of Clinton's speech will cap decades of appearances at Democratic conventions, where she has worn many hats — speaking as first lady when Bill Clinton was president in 1996, as a rising candidate ... Which celebrities will attend the DNC? Here's what we know so far The Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago this week, and many are wondering what celebrities might pop up to cheer on Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the White House. So ... Tic Tacs, tampons, turmoil: What Trump's 'economy' speech actually An analysis of Donald Trump's speech indicates that more than 80 percent of it was about subjects other than the economy. DNC 2024 live updates: Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, and AOC speak Clinton's speech was full of Easter eggs for her fans, with some of her biggest applause lines calling back to her past speeches and work. She referred to shattering the highest glass ceiling ... DNC 2024 full schedule, dates, times, how to watch and livestream The 2024 Democratic National Convention begins Monday in Chicago with President Joe Biden speaking during the opening night of the convention.. The convention's first night will pay tribute to the ... Harris and Trump Offer a Clear Contrast on the Economy Mr. Trump's pitch is simpler: He says that he made America rich the first time he was in the White House, and that he would do it again. He also blames Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden for a surge in ... What does Hamlet's "to be or not to be" speech reveal about his view on Quick answer: Hamlet's soliloquy reveals that he is at a point where he can no longer go on with life, which is why he says "to be or not to be." Why is the "To be or not to be" speech in Hamlet ... Commonly referred to as the "to be or not to be" speech, it is Hamlet's soliloquy that determines whether the plot will develop in the most famous of Shakespeare's tragedies. The powerful ... Ashley Biden will introduce President Joe Biden at the DNC. Who is she Ashley Biden, the only child of President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, will introduce her father before he speaks at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night. She virtually ... essay homework paper phd project resume review speech study thesis