To be, or not to be - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › To_be,_or_not_to_be" 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.