Hamlet 'To Be or Not to Be'

(I meant to post a bunch this week but work schedules, kids and my daughter's fifth birthday party ate up all my time and a considerable amount of sanity.)

I've read that 'to be or not to be' is the most quoted line in the English language.  That's probably fitting since it's a question that deals with one of the most basic questions in life.  I know that when I was younger, more than once I questioned that balance and asked if it was all worth it or not. 

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?

 What's the better thing to do when given an unbearable situation?  Fight back or give in?  What if you can't win?  Does the mere act of fighting mean a victory of sorts?

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.

 The lure of giving in, of dying, and simply being out of pain is very tempting.  To finally get off the wheel and the daily grind of awful surprises.  Wouldn't that be wonderful!

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

 But what if the pain doesn't end there?  What things are even worse after death?  Keep in mind that when Shakespeare wrote this, there was a pretty uniform view that suicide was sin and in some ways an ultimate sin.  A man who killed himself would have no chance (no time!) for absolution.

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despis'd 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 can blame these people for saying enough is enough?

who would these 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,

 And why would they keep living unless it was a fear of the unknown that stopped them?  It's very interesting to me that Hamlet doesn't consider any other possibilities.

puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know naught 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. 

 And Hamlet talks himself out of suicide.  He won't take that avenue because he doesn't know where it will lead.  Conscience has made a coward of him and he won't take that action. 
Of course, to our modern eyes, there are many reasons not to commit suicide.  Hamlet might have been stopped if he'd thought about how his mother or girlfriend would feel.  He might have thought about the effect on the state of Denmark to have another monarch die.  He could also have worried about letting a villain like Claudius get away with murder most foul. 
None of this is meant as criticism of the writing.  Shakespeare does an invaluable service in taking one argument and really exploring it.  Again (and again) he asks big questions and only provides partial answers.  It's up to us to try and figure out the rest.