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: -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-3: -Claudius begins his soliloquy by describing his ‘offence’ – killing his brother, Old Hamlet – as ‘rank’, i.e. foul-smelling and offensive. His crime is the very first murder in the Bible: Cain’s murder of his brother Abel, from the book of Genesis, and the subsequent curse placed upon mankind.

Detailed explanation-4: -The purpose of a soliloquy is to convey a character’s innermost thoughts to the audience. The audience is unable to read a character’s mind; therefore, this is the only way to show an internal conflict that a character is experiencing.

Detailed explanation-5: -What is the subject of Hamlet’s second soliloquy, the famous “To be or not to be” speech? The subject is internal conflict. He wants revenge for his father but dislikes the idea of exacting revenge. He becomes frenzied and anxious trying to resolve the conflict.