And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare Free

FREE TO BE OR NOT TO BE: AND EVERYTHING ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW FROM SHAKESPEARE PDF

General Education. In this comprehensive guide, we give you the full text of the Hamlet "To be or not to be" soliloquy and discuss everything there is to know about it, from what kinds of themes and literary devices it has to its cultural impact on society today. It is 35 lines long. 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? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd. You can also view a contemporary English translation of the speech here. In this scene, often called the "nunnery scene," Prince Hamlet thinks about life, death, and suicide. Specifically, he wonders whether it might be preferable to commit suicide to end one's suffering and to leave behind the pain and agony associated with living. The first line and the most famous of the soliloquy raises the overarching question of the speech: "To be, or not to be," that is, "To live, or to die. Interestingly, Hamlet poses this as a question for all of humanity rather than for only himself. However, he quickly changes his tune when he considers that nobody knows for sure what happens after deathnamely whether there is an afterlife and whether this afterlife might be even worse than life. This realization is what ultimately gives Hamlet and others, he reasons "pause" when it comes to taking action i. In this sense, humans are so fearful of what comes after death and the possibility that it might be more miserable than life that they including Hamlet are rendered immobile. Title page of Hamletprinting. Shakespeare wrote more than three dozen plays in his lifetime, including what is perhaps his To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare iconic, Hamlet. But where did the inspiration for this tragic, vengeful, melancholy play come from? Although nothing has been verified, rumors abound. Others believe Shakespeare was inspired to explore graver, darker themes in his works due to the passing of his own father inthe same year he wrote Hamlet. This theory seems possible, considering that many of the plays Shakespeare wrote after Hamletsuch as Macbeth and Othelloadopted similarly dark themes. Finally, some have suggested that Shakespeare was inspired to write Hamlet by the tensions that cropped up during the English Reformationwhich raised questions as to whether the Catholics or Protestants held more "legitimate" beliefs interestingly, Shakespeare intertwines both religions in the play. There are no clear answers to any of these questions, and he knows this. It is this general feeling of doubt that also plagues his fears of the afterlife, which Hamlet speaks on at length in his "To be or not to be" soliloquy. As the opening line tells us, "To be or not to be" revolves around complex notions of life and death and the afterlife. Up until this point in the play, Hamlet has continued to debate with himself whether he should kill Claudius to avenge his father. He also wonders whether it might be preferable to kill himself — this would allow him to escape his own "sea of troubles" and the "slings and arrows" of life. But like so many others, Hamlet fears the uncertainty dying brings and is tormented by the possibility of ending up in Hell —a place even more miserable than life. He is heavily plagued by this realization that the only way to find out if death is better than life is to go ahead and end it, a permanent decision one cannot take back. Despite Hamlet's attempts to logically understand the world and death, there are some things he will simply never know until he himself dies, further fueling his ambivalence. The entirety of Hamlet can be said to revolve around the theme of madness and whether Hamlet has been feigning madness or has truly gone mad or both. Before Hamlet begins his soliloquy, Claudius and Polonius are revealed to be hiding in an attempt to eavesdrop on Hamlet and later Ophelia when she enters the scene. If he is unaware, as most might assume he is, then we could view his "To be or not to be" soliloquy as the simple musings of a highly stressed-out, possibly "mad" man, who has no idea what to think anymore when it comes to life, death, and religion as a whole. Whether or not he is truly "mad" here To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare later in the play is up to you to decide! In the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, Shakespeare has Hamlet use a wide array of literary devices to bring more power, imagination, and emotion to the speech. Shakespeare uses several metaphors in "To be or not to be," making it by far the most prominent literary device in the soliloquy. To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare metaphor is when a thing, person, place, or idea is compared to something else in non-literal terms, usually to create a poetic or rhetorical effect. This metaphor brings clarity to the fact that death truly is permanent and that nobody knows what, if anything, comes after life. A metonym is when an idea or thing is substituted with a related idea or thing i. In "To be or not to be," Shakespeare uses the notion of sleep as a substitute for death when Hamlet says, "To die, to sleep. Because the act of sleeping looks very much like death. Think about it: we often describe death as an "eternal sleep" or "eternal slumber," right? Since the two concepts are closely related, this line is a metonym instead of a plain metaphor. The phrase "to die, to sleep" To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare an example of repetition, as it appears once in line 5 and once in line 9. Hearing this phrase twice emphasizes that Hamlet is really albeit futilely attempting to logically define death by comparing it to what we all superficially know it to be: a never-ending sleep. A far less common literary device, anadiplosis is when a word or phrase that comes at the end of a clause is repeated at the very beginning of the next clause. The anadiplosis gives us a clear sense of connection between these two sentences. For example, this Calvin and Hobbes comic from depicts a humorous use of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy by poking fun at its dreary, melodramatic nature. Many movies and TV shows have references to "To be or not to be," too. In an episode of Sesame Streetfamed British actor Patrick Stewart does a parodic version of the soliloquy "B, or not a B" to teach kids the letter "B":. As you can see, over the more than four centuries since Hamlet first premiered, the "To be or not to be" soliloquy has truly made a name for itself and continues to play a big role in society. Its iconic "To be or not to be" soliloquy, spoken by the titular Hamlet in Scene 3, Act 1, has been analyzed for centuries and continues to intrigue scholars, students, and general readers alike. The soliloquy is essentially all about life and death To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare "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. Even today, we can see evidence of the cultural impact of "To be or not to be," with its numerous references in movies, TV shows, music, books, and art. It truly has a life of its own! In order to analyze other texts or even other parts of Hamlet effectively, you'll need to be familiar with common poetic devicesliterary devicesand literary elements. What is iambic pentameter? Shakespeare often used it in his plays —including Hamlet. Learn all about this type of poetic rhythm here. Need help understanding other famous works of literature? Then check out our expert guides to F. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel. How to Get a Perfectby a Perfect Scorer. Score on SAT Math. Score on SAT Reading. Score on SAT Writing. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? How to Get a Perfect 4. How to Write an Amazing College Essay. A Comprehensive Guide. Choose Your Test. Here is the full text: 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? Questions Hamlet asks both before and during this soliloquy To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare as follows: Was it really the ghost of his father he heard and saw? Was his father actually poisoned by Claudius? Should he kill Claudius? Should he kill himself? What are the consequences of killing Claudius? Of not killing him? Theme 3: Madness The entirety of Hamlet can be said to revolve around the theme of madness and whether Hamlet has been feigning madness or has truly gone mad or both. Hannah Muniz. About the Author. Ask a Question Below Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply! Search the Blog Search. Find Out How. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! Looking for Graduate School Test Prep? To Be or Not to Be: Analyzing Hamlet's Soliloquy

In the speech, Hamlet contemplates death and suicidebemoaning the pain and unfairness of life but acknowledging that the alternative might be worse. The opening line is one of the most widely known and quoted lines in modern English, and the soliloquy has been referenced in To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare works of theatre, literature and music. This version preserves most of the First Folio text with updated spelling and five common emendations introduced from the Second "Good" Quarto italicized. 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: to die, to sleep; To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare more; and by a sleep, to say we end The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks That Flesh is heir to? To die, to sleep, To sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, there's the rub, For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. Who would Fardels bear, [F: these Fardels ] To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have, Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare native hue of Resolution Is sicklied o'er, with the pale cast of Thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment, [F: pith ] With this regard their Currents turn awry[F: away ] And lose the name of Action. Soft To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare now, The fair Ophelia? Nymph, in thy Orisons Be all my sins remember'd. The " First Quarto " Q1 is the earliest edition of Hamlet but is considered a bad quarto essentially a theatrical knock-off rather than a first or earlier draft, and although some parts of Q1 reflect the received text of Hamlet well, its version of "To be" does not. For ease of comparison the spelling here is updated as above. To be, or not to be, Ay there's the point, To Die, to sleep, is that all? Aye all: No, to sleep, to dream, aye marry there it goes, For in that dream of death, when we awake, And borne before an everlasting Judge, From whence no passenger ever returned, The undiscovered country, at whose sight The happy smile, and the accursed damn'd. But for this, the joyful hope of this, Who'd bear the scorns and flattery of the world, Scorned by the right rich, the rich cursed of the poor? The widow being oppressed, the orphan wrong'd, The taste of hunger, or a tyrants reign, And thousand more calamities besides, To grunt and sweat under this weary life, When that he may his full Quietus make, With a bare bodkin, who would this endure, But for a hope of something after death? Which puzzles the brain, and doth confound the sense, Which makes us rather bear those evils we have, Than fly to others that we know not of. Aye that, O this conscience makes cowards of us all, Lady in thy orizons, be all my sins remembered. The text of the Second Quarto Q2 is considered the earliest version of the play. In Q2 the whole nunnery scene including "To be" takes place later in the play than in Q1 where it occurs directly after Claudius and Polonius have planned it [4] and the addition of "Soft you now", suggesting that Hamlet has not or is feigning having not seen Ophelia thus far during his speech. The differences in "To be" are mostly typographic, with increased punctuation and capitalization. Soft you now, The faire Ophelia? Hamlet is commonly depicted as reciting the first line while holding a skullalthough both occur at separate times —the soliloquy is done in Act III, Scene I, while the contemplation of the skull is done in Act V, Scene I. Much of the plot of sophisticated comedy To Be or Not to Beby Ernst Lubitschis focused on the monologue of Hamlet; in comedy film A King in New YorkCharlie Chaplin recites the famous monologue in the shoes of the ambiguous king Shahdov. Hamlet's famous line inspired the title of Kurt Vonnegut 's short story 2 B R 0 2 B The zero is pronounced "naught". In at a debate in Oxford, Black liberation leader Malcolm X quoted the first few lines of the soliloquy to make a point about "extremism in defense of liberty. James ' dystopian novel The Children of Men refers to expected or forced mass suicides of the elderly as "Quietus". The film adaptation Children of Men portrays a self-administered home suicide kit, labelled "Quietus". Last Action Hero has Jack Slater parody the phrase before blowing up a building behind him just by smoking a cigar. His version has him say "To be, or not to be? Not to be. Star Trek 's sixth film was named after the "Undiscovered Country" line from this soliloquy, albeit the Klingon interpretation in which the title refers to the future and not death. References are made to Shakespeare during the film including Klingon translations of his works and the use of the phrase "taH pagh, taHbe' ", roughly meaning "whether to continue, or not to continue [existence]. The book and later film What Dreams May Come also derives its name from a line from this soliloquy. These episodes involved learning about and fighting the artificial intelligence species Replicator. There are numerous snowclones based on the phrase, such as "To hack or not to hack", etc. The virtuoso soliloquy in Carl Michael Bellman 's Fredman's Epistle " Ack du min moder " was described by the poet and literary historian Oscar Levertin as "the to-be-or-not-to-be of Swedish literature". From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Soliloquy in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. For other uses, see To Be or Not to Be disambiguation. For other uses, see Perchance to Dream disambiguation. Hamlet, Act 3. Even so, Hamlet seems to consider himself alone and there is no indication that the others on stage hear him before he addresses Ophelia. Tufts University. Accessed 24 August Trundell London The Shakespeare Press, Copy 1. Huntington Libraryimage Accessed 13 December Newly imprinted and enlarged to almost as much againe as it was, according to the true and perfect Coppie [The "Second Quarto"]. Nicholas Ling, Brandeis University. Accessed 13 Dec To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare Textual Practice. Routledge Publishing. The Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 29 April Open Culture. Retrieved 3 December Introductory Essay to Fredmans Epistles in Swedish. William Shakespeare 's Hamlet. Dumbshow Induction Quiddity Substitution. Sources Criticism. Moscow Art Theatre — Richard Burton Hamletmachine Dogg's Hamlet Fortinbras Rockabye Hamlet Hamlet, Revenge! Last Action Hero Hamlet Sons of Anarchy. Categories : Hamlet Monologues Shakespearean phrases Snowclones. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Wikimedia Commons. Wikisource has original text related to this article: Hamlet, Act 3. 'To Be Or Not To Be': Hamlet's Soliloquy With Analysis✔

We all love a bit of Shakespeare and his words ring so true. Which quotes and wise words will reflect your ? Take this quiz and let's see! Your will be full of magic and mystery. When Shakespeare talks of life being a simple walking shadow he is talking about the projection of ourselves to the world. Make sure you create the best projection of yourself and share it with others. Don't hide in the shadows but become them and express everything that you truly feel this year. This confident boosting Shakespeare quote talks about starting and believing in yourself. This should be the year that you really push yourself and follow your dreams. Nothing was ever easy and this year you need to go for it in every single way or else you will never know what COULD have happened. This year you need to search within and find out who you really are. This year should be about finding yourself and owning it. Don't listen to other people's thoughts and feelings. This year will be about personal development and Shakespeare's wise words should run deep. Be true to yourself and then you will find true happiness. Shakespeare preaches that we must be in control of our own fate and you must also take this advice this year. Nothing comes easily and things do not just fall from grace. We all know success and happiness comes from hard work so focus on taking control of your own destiny instead of waiting for something or someone to give you answers. Only you have them! Which Shakespeare Quotes Represent Your ? Created by PringlePeaches. How much do you relate personally to this quote? I To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare more than I show. I show more than I have. I should speak more than I know. I speak more than I know. Which sentence do you recognise in yourself? I know what I will become. I know who I am. I need to know what may be. I do not know who I am. What do you feel withers you? Though I am I am strong and lusty. What would you like to let come in the fruition of life? How many parts do you feel like you have played in life To be or Not to be: And Everything Else You Should Know from Shakespeare to this point? Over What makes you choose someone. Physical appearance. What do you consider one must do above all? Be bold. Be caring. Be loyal. Be honest. What do you most doubt in life? Facebook Comments.