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Primary sourceSpeechc. 1600-1601

To be, or not to be

William Shakespeare · c. 1600-1601

Hamlet's famous soliloquy from Shakespeare's play, weighing life, death and suicide in a moment of private thought.

Shakespeare wrote this soliloquy as part of his play Hamlet, showcasing his technique of dramatised inner thought.

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Scan of an early printed page showing the opening lines of Hamlet's soliloquy, headed 'Ham.', beginning 'To be, or not to be, I there's the point, To Die, to sleepe, is that all? I all:' in old-style spelling and typeface.
William Shakespeare, 'To be, or not to be,' from Hamlet, early printed text.

About this source

What it is

This monologue, spoken by Prince Hamlet in Act 3 of Shakespeare's play Hamlet, is one of the most quoted passages in English literature. It survives in several early printed texts, including the First Quarto (1603), Second Quarto (1604) and First Folio (1623), which differ slightly in wording.

Why it matters

The speech shows Shakespeare's skill at putting a character's private thoughts directly into words for an audience, a technique that shaped how later writers portrayed inner conflict. Because several early printed versions exist with small differences, it also shows how unstable and changeable printed texts of plays were in Shakespeare's time.

Look closer

  • Why do the different early printed versions of this speech not match exactly?
  • What does Hamlet seem to be weighing up as he speaks?
  • Why might this speech have become so widely quoted centuries later?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William Shakespeare on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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