what did Shakespear mean by "To be or not to be??"?

Question

to be or not 2 be what???
if it's to b a millionaire then i could do that

i really should have read the play that it was in

Answer 1

Shakespeare got this line wrong, what he really meant to say was quote ''To Pee or not to Pee that is the question for I'm dying for a Pi?s but the other half's locked herself in the carsey , If she stays in there any longer I'll throttle her when she comes out'' does that sound familiar in your house hold? It does in mine.

Hey Jude, you sound like you know what it's like to keep your feller waiting, its bad enough when your want a Pee but I can understand why you would contemplate suicide if you were waiting on a crap. God! yes. your right

Answer 2

To be or not to be.
To live or to die.
That is the question.
That is the question.
Whether tis nobler in mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
is it better to suffer because of being a rich and famous
Or to take arms against a sea of trouble
Or is it better to fight against insurmountable problems
And by opposing them end them
and by tackling them solve them.
To die, to sleep,
To die or to sleep.
To die..to sleep no more.
If we die we will not be sleeping any more
and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand
natural shocks that flesh is heir to...
ay theres the rub.
And by sleeping in that sleep of death we end all our heartaches
and all the shocks that we have during our lifetime

I think I have got a bit mixed up here it has been so long since I did this.!!!!!


whoops....my mind has flown somewhere else lol....but he is asking whether he should go on living or should he end everything and kill himself.

Answer 3

He is talking about the essence of life. Hamlet is considering suicide because he is exhausted of a painful life and wants to sleep (Shakespeare uses the idea or sleep in several or his plays, one that comes to my head is MacBeth). So he wants to commit suicide but is too afraid because he doesn't know what lies behind death. So he is just contemplating if suicide will actually rid him of all his troubles, but deep down he knows that it is not so.

Answer 4

It's from the play Hamlet. Hamlet has found out that his uncle has killed his father and that his own mother also took part in the plot. Hamlet is beside himself and moreover, he is a coward. He does not know whether he should take action or whether he should kill himself. It could be rephrased, "to live or to die?" hope this helps!
Good luck!

Answer 5

its quantum philosophy... possibilities.. there's always 2 options for a possible future, its choice, to do or not to do.. In Shakespeare's time, it was to be, or not to be, which is more constructive than just being something without questioning it.. hope this helps

Answer 6

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. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. 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,
Th' 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 th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
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 the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprise of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia! -- Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.


Whether it is better to live with the torment of your sorrows, or to kill oneself, without knowing whether there is life after death. Whether heaven exists or if we just rot in the ground.

Answer 7

have your parents ever asked you this......."what do you want to be when you grow up?" Basically, you either want to be something (or somebody), or you don't. The choice that this famous quotation is something we will all ask ourselves for the rest of our lives. Or another perspective.... Be, all that you can be, in the Army. This more familiar quote for you is promoting a better life and future. "Not to be".... is basically death, suicide or , a nobody worthy of being. I hope all you kids choose "TO BE". : )

Answer 8

If you read Hamlet's entire "to be or not to be" monologue, it's about whether he should kill himself or not. So I guess Shakespeare was trying to have Hamlet say "should I live or should i die?"

Answer 9

he was looking in the mirror asking himself about life in general,
to live or not to live... The mirror he was looking in was double sided, he knew someone was behind the mirror, so he said that,, so the person on the other end would think he was going crazy.

Answer 10

It is about the contemplation of the choice to be alive (to be) or dead (not to be)...

See this link:
http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/question