Context, of the Hamlet Monologue, "To be or Not to be"?

Question

Can anyone give me some context about this speech. I need to know the following
a. Whole monologue
b. Why was it being said
c. What were the themes in Hamlet that I need to be aware of that help me understand this speech.
d. Who was he saying this to
e. What events led up to this speech and what will transpire after. (If some of you can provide at least some of these answers I would appreciate it.

Answer 1

Hamlet: 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 heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to.
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Hamlet is asking himself if he should commit suicide or live. above is the full monologue.

Answer 2

The to be or not to be is Hamlet asking whether it would be better to die than to live with the pain of life. Its a classic suicidal soliloquey. As a soliloquey, he isn't really saying it to anyone, its more of an internal monologue. He could be said to be speaking to the audience, but he's really talking to himself.

The above answer isn't quite complete, here's some more of it:

...end the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to
To die, to sleep, no more
To sleep, perchance to dream, aye, there's the rub
For in that sleep of death
What dreams may come must give us pause.

In the end, by the way, Hamlet dies. Read the thing if you want more, or if thats too much (and I could understand if it were), get yourself some Cliffsnotes.

Oh, and some people thing that the whole to be or not to be thing only makes Hamlet, whose otherwise a morally conflicted, but very strong personality, unneccessarily wishy-washy. Far superior is the "What a piece of work is man..." speech, which manages to be bitter and hopeful at the same time.

Answer 3

You owe William Shakespeare jibe t' pat your copy of "Hamlet".

Answer 4

what this speech is saying in essence is "to be or not to be" should he live or die. since everything in his life has gone "anaught" (shakespearan term) he is comtemplating in doing himself in.
what led to this Hamlet has just done his uncle/stepfather in because of what he did to his father then marrying his mother so soon after his fathers death.
what i got from this I think he decided to remain alive.

Answer 5

It's actually a pretty good play; you ought to give it a read sometime.