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 heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. 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.

To be, or not to be,
Meaning
Is it better to live or to die?
Origin
‘To be or not to be’ is probably the best-known line from all drama or literature. If anyone is asked to quote a line of Shakespeare this opening of the speech by Hamlet is often the one that first comes to mind:
'To be or not to be: that is the question'

What Hamlet is musing on is the comparison between the pain of life, which he sees as inevitable (the sea of troubles - the slings and arrows - the heart-ache - the thousand natural shocks) and the fear of the uncertainty of death and of possible damnation of suicide.

Hamlet's dilemma is that although he is dissatisfied with life and lists its many torments, he is unsure what death may bring (the dread of something after death). He can't be sure what death has in store; it may be sleep but in perchance to dream he is speculating that it is perhaps an experience worse than life. The dread of something after death would have been well understood by a Tudor audience to mean the fires of Hell.

I opted for a more serious portrayal of the saying choosing an African carving we've had around for years showing front view (to be) and back view (not to be); it also gave me the excuse to practise layers and cut-outs in Photoshop. I have to say I was seriously tempted to select 2B and other 'not 2B pencils!!