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,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. -Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia!
Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."- William Shakespeare
Labels: Hamlet, poetry, poets, To A Stranger, To be or not to be, William Shakespeare
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Shakespeare. Love. That is all ;-D
xxxc
Cassiopeia said...
May 14, 2009 at 3:51 PM
Ah, Melissa, the great classic.
Shakespeare and Mr. Hamlet ruminating living or dying via suicide.
Death is called the "undiscover'd country" from which no traveller returns.
You do warn us of your "dark side" and sometimes it scares me - I hope you never consider the things Mr. Hamlet speaks of...
We will all get to explore the "undiscover'd country" soon enough. I hope it will be a grand (and pleasant) adventure, but I've not packed yet. :)
Intense Guy said...
May 15, 2009 at 9:45 AM