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Hamlet's "To be or not to be" - what was his dilemma, then?
Soliloquy in act III, scene 1, of William Shakespeare's play entitled Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Listen to this piece at the Talking People Podcast

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

At the Talking People Podcast you can listen to this excerpt and also to a pacifist version of it!

Read the complete monologue, some comments on it by teachers and students and watch a few YouTube videos by checking out the "To be or not to be" Monologue at the EOI Goya Reading Club , a wonderful project by people in state-run language schools! And a warm thanks to Marta (teacher, 2007-08) for having started all that!

Do you want to read the complete monologue now?

If you want to learn about Canadian writer Margaret Atwood thinks about Hamlet's brooding, read -- and listen to -- the words she puts in Gertrude's mouth (she's Hamlet's mum's)! Really funny!

Read Hamlet