To Be or Not to Be…. That is the Monologue Andrew Cowan College

Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” speech in 3.1.56-90 of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is perhaps the most famous section of dialogue in the English language. It has been quoted an innumerable number of times in all forms of media, it continues to grab the attention of audiences and leave them bewildered, and it is perhaps the greatest line penned by one of the greatest authors of the English language. It certainly helps that the speech can ride on the coattails of William Shakespeare’s reputation, but this monologue has significant literary merit on its own, regardless of its author. It comes at a time in the story when life has gotten so bad for Hamlet that he is not sure whether or not he wants to go on living; but rather than shying away from those feelings, Shakespeare addresses them head on and actually weighs the pros and cons of life and death through Hamlet. It is the sort of conversation that people would generally not like to entertain, yet Shakespeare was able to able to touch on something universally confounding that continues to garner attention 400 years later. It is through his deep rooted understanding of human nature and his ability to effectively convey to audiences it that...