Comparison of the "Tobe, ornottobe" speech in the first three editions of Hamlet, showing the varying quality of the text in the Bad Quarto, the Good Quarto, and the First Folio. Why doesHamlet say ‘Tobeornottobe’?Hamlet is wondering whether he should continue tobe, meaning to exist or remain alive, or to not exist – in other words, commit suicide. His thoughts about that develop in the rest of the soliloquy. Tobe, ornottobe: 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? Andrew Scott's version of Hamlet'sToBeOrNotToBe.Couldn't find this anywhere in full on YouTube so decided to upload on my own.Enjoy! Hamlet’s soliloquy from William Shakespeare’s play is rightly celebrated for being a meditation on the nature of life and death, but some interpretations of the soliloquy serve to reduce the lines to a more simplistic meaning. So whatdoes ‘Tobeornottobe’ really mean? 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. “Nottobe” means to die or stop existing. However, the phrase is not only about the dictionary meaning of “be.” It carries emotional and philosophical weight.