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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.
HamletAct III, Scene 1
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Act 3, Scene 1
Climax
Hamlet has confirmed the Ghost’s story by staging the Mousetrap play. But he has not yet acted. Claudius and Polonius hide behind a curtain to eavesdrop as Hamlet enters, contemplating whether to endure suffering or end it through action — or death.
Why This Matters
The most famous soliloquy in the English language. Hamlet meditates on whether life is worth enduring.
existencedeathindecisionphilosophy
John Philip Kemble as Hamlet
Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1801 · Public Domain