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"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 widely known and quoted lines in modern English literature, and has been referenced in many works of theatre, literature and music.
William Shakespeare's play Hamlet has contributed many phrases to common English, from the famous "To be, or not to be" to a few less known, but still in everyday English. Some also occur elsewhere (e.g. in the Bible) or are proverbial. All quotations are second quarto except as noted:
Elsinore Castle, the seat of power of Denmark's crown in the play, is re-imagined as Hotel Elsinore, the headquarters of Denmark Corporation.; Prior to delivering the "To be, or not to be" monologue, Hamlet is seen watching a video of famed Buddhist teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh explaining the principle "To be is to be with others; to be is to inter-be" a basic teaching of Hanh's "Order of ...
The graveyard scene eases tension prior to the catastrophe, and, as Hamlet holds the skull, it is shown that Hamlet no longer fears damnation in the afterlife, and accepts that there is a "divinity that shapes our ends".
"Mortal coil"—along with "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune", "to sleep, perchance to dream" and "ay, there’s the rub"—is part of Hamlet’s famous "To be, or not to be" speech. Schopenhauer's speculation
I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was I meant to be". [102] The poem The Night Before Christmas includes the line "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." This may derive from Act 1 Scene 1's "Not a mouse stirring." [103] The poem "Hamlet" by Boris Pasternak opens the collection of poetry in the novel Dr Zhivago attributed to the title character.
This is not the first time that this question has been raised in the play. Hamlet has the very same discussion with himself during his "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in Act 3 scene 1. The characters in Act 5 scene 1 approach the topic this time with dark comedy, and in doing so bring up an entirely different theme.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell the Queen that they will have Hamlet play a leading part in some court theatricals to distract him. Hamlet enters, and she begs them to prevent him from soliloquising. Hamlet begins, "To be – or not to be," but they interrupt him, turning the soliloquy into a trio, and urging him to commit suicide.