ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -"To be, or not to be” is the opening phrase of a speech given by Prince Hamlet in the so-called “nunnery scene” of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1. In the speech, Hamlet contemplates death and suicide, weighing the pain and unfairness of life against the alternative, which might be worse.

Detailed explanation-2: -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.

Detailed explanation-3: -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.

Detailed explanation-4: -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.

Detailed explanation-5: -Fie on’t! ah fie! ‘tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this!