To be, or not to be

1. Words from the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. They begin a famous speech by Prince Hamlet in which he considers suicide as an escape from his troubles: “To be, or not to be: that is the question.”

Example Sentences

Just when I was silently begging the filmmaker to tone it down, she toned it up, even having Mr. Mescal tearfully do the “to be or not to be” soliloquy while contemplating throwing himself off a cliff in a scene that plays like a Mel Brooks comedy about histrionic artists.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“There’s that very famous line, ‘To be or not to be,’ and I tried to imagine what that same question would look like in today’s words and visual expression,” says the writer-director.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“To be or not to be” goes beyond suicidal thought — it’s about existence itself.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

We’re like Will standing at the edge of the river when, at least in our film, the “to be or not to be” monologue was born.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Then came his “To be, or not to be” act—maybe he’ll attack, maybe he won’t, “nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

Read more on Slate