Is "To be or not to be" about whether you should kill yourself or not?

Answer 1

It is perhaps the most thoughtful question ever asked...

the question is about existentialism...

in its context it means...whether to act upon a situation or not...

"is it more divine to fight and oppose or to accept things"...thats the context it was written in...

its a dialectical question...with no easy answers...

this question opens a pandora's box over the topic of ethics and morality...and questions our purpose of living and existence...and it reflects upon a life derived out of that purpose...

this question is evolutionary in its nature...thus touching upon every aspect of human endeavours...and its phrased in such a way that it not only demands an answer but also makes you question the meaning of life itself...

rarely has a question ever meant so much..

Shakespeare was one the finest minds known to us...

reading his works would lead to great insights...

Answer 2

No, it's not about whether we should kill ourselves. Out of context, it simply questions whether something will happen. In the context of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," it is Hamlet questioning his own life. Hamlet wonders if it would be easier to kill himself and get away from his problems. For the record, Hamlet decides that killing himself might be even worse than continuing:

To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to dream! Ay, there's the rub.
For in that sleep of death, who knows what dreams may come?

In other words, what if death is a sleep in which we continuously experience and reexperience all of the things that drove us to suicide?

Answer 3

Sorta kinda. It's about whether or not it's worth it to go on living in general. But the monologue itself refers to the type of revenge that Hamlet's father asks him to do. Back in Elizabethan times, there was a type of entertainment called a "revenge play" where the main idea of the paly was for one person to get revenge for the death of their family member by killing that person or a member of their family. Shakespeare sort of turns that on its head by making the person who is seeking revenge wonder aloud if this cycle of vengeance is really worth it for his family as a whole. What is the purpose of vengeance for a thinking person? He knows that killing this guy is going to set off a chain reaction of vengeance in which a lot of people are going to be killed. And since he is not a man of action, what kind of man is he? Ophelia DID commit suicide, and he accidentally killed Polonius, so he has that to think about as well.

Answer 4

I hope you are talking about Hamlet. My understanding was always that he is faced with either attacking his mother, since she helped kill his father, or failing to avenge his father and just fading away. It is the case of being torn between the loyalty a son owes both parents.

Answer 5

Ok, if you mean the phrase itself, I would say no...it is about living or dying...not necessarily about suicide...if he goes after his Uncle he will most likely die and he knows it. But, later on in the soliloquy when he says something like who would not his quietus take with a bare bodkin...there he is talking about suicide.

So, the soliloquy itself definitely addresses the issue, but the question, "to be or not to be?" does not address it directly.

Hope that helps.

Answer 6

I think the soliloquy that begins with "to be or not to be" is about the broader topics of life vs. death, action vs. inaction, and the nature of death itself. Suicide is touched on, but the soliloquy is about more than just that.

Answer 7

In a word, yes

Answer 8

Yes. Let us know when you've done it.