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Wikisource has original text related to this article: Comparison of the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in the first three editions of Hamlet, showing the varying quality of the text in the Bad Quarto, the Good Quarto and the First Folio "To be, or not to be" is the opening phrase of a soliloquy[a] 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, bemoaning 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 literature, and the soliloquy has been referenced in many works of theatre, literature, and music. Text[edit]This version preserves most of the First Folio text with updated spelling and five common emendations introduced from the Second ("Good") Quarto (italicised).[1]
First Quarto (1603)[edit]The First Quarto is a short early text of Hamlet. Though it was published in 1603, it was lost or not known until a copy was discovered in 1823. It contains a number of unique characteristics and oddities. When it was discovered, it was thought to be an earlier version than the Second Quarto, but is now considered by scholars to be derivative, or pirated and imperfectly remembered.[2] For ease of comparison the spelling here is updated as above.[3][4]
Second Quarto (1604)[edit]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[5] and the addition of "Soft you now", suggesting that Hamlet has not (or is feigning having not) seen Ophelia thus far during his speech.[6]
First Folio (1623)[edit]Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, published by Isaac Jaggard and Ed Blount in 1623 and better known as the "First Folio", includes an edition of Hamlet largely similar to the Second Quarto. The differences in "To be" are mostly typographic, with increased punctuation and capitalization.[7]
Cultural impact[edit]"To be, or not to be" is one of the most widely known and quoted lines in modern English, and the soliloquy has been referenced in numerous works of theatre, literature and music. The two most iconic moments in the play ― the Act III, scene 1 "To be or not to be" soliloquy and the Act V, scene 1 image of Hamlet contemplating a skull ― may be linked when the play is remembered, but the two moments occur in different acts of the play.[8] A plot point of the 1942 film comedy To Be or Not to Be involves the first line of the monologue. In the 1957 comedy film A King in New York, Charlie Chaplin recites the monologue in the shoes of the ambiguous King Shahdov. Hamlet's line is the basis of the title of Kurt Vonnegut's 1962 short story "2 B R 0 2 B" (the zero is pronounced "naught"). The narrative takes place in a dystopian future in which the United States government, through scientific advancement, has achieved a “cure” for both aging and overpopulation. The alphabetical/numerical reformulation of Shakespeare's lines serves in the story as the phone number for the Federal Bureau of Termination's assisted suicide request line.[9] In 1963 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."[10] Last Action Hero (1993) 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 (1991) 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 1978 novel by Richard Matheson and its 1998 film adaptation What Dreams May Come derive their name from a line from this soliloquy. The 1997 film adaptation of George of the Jungle also parodies this line; when George sees a paraglider dangling off the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and notices a rope on the bridge's ledge, he quotes to the audience "To swing, or not to swing"? After deciding "swing", George grabs the rope and swings, saving the paraglider. A shorter Hindi version of "To be, or not to be" was recited by Shahid Kapoor in the 2014 Bollywood film Haider. Stargate Atlantis, the Season 4 Episode 10 named "This Mortal Coil" (2008) after the soliloquy, as well as Season 4 Episode 11 named "Be All My Sins Remember'd" (2008). These episodes involved learning about and fighting the artificial intelligence species Replicator. 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".[11][12] Notes[edit]
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Where does the phrase slings and arrows of outrageous fortune come from?The quote is from Shakespeare's play Hamlet. In act 3, scene 1 Hamlet contemplates the pain and unfairness of life: “To be or not to be? 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…”
What does the expression slings and arrows mean?phrase. Slings and arrows are unpleasant things that happen to you and that are not your fault. [written] She had suffered her own share of slings and arrows in the quest for publicity. See full dictionary entry for sling.
What does 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?“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?” In these lines he asks whether it would be better to deal with life for the occasional good things in it, or end his life and no longer have to deal with his ...
What is a sling Hamlet?slings (66)
The stings of fortune was a common saying in the Renaissance. But in the context of the soliloquy, slings likely means sling-shot or missile. This seems in keeping with the reference to arrows - both can do great harm. For more on this line, please see the explanatory notes at the bottom of Hamlet (3.1)
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