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Soliloquy In Shakespeare's Hamlet-To Be Or Not To Be

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To be, or not to be..." is the opening phrase of a soliloquy in the "Nunnery Scene"[1] of William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet.

In the speech, a despondent Prince Hamlet contemplates death and suicide. He bemoans the pains and unfairness of life but acknowledges the alternative might be still worse. The speech functions within the play to explain Hamlet 's hesitation to directly and immediately avenge his father 's murder (discovered in Act I) on his uncle, stepfather, and new king Claudius. Claudius and his minister Polonius[2] are preparing to eavesdrop on Hamlet 's interaction with

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