Perhaps the most widely known Shakespearean line is the "To be or not to be" line of Act 3 scene 1. Why is this monologue so famous? Is it one of those artistic ideas that are commonly discussed while nobody knows what it means? A hoax, for instance, where one is persuaded into admiration by following the masses? Is it famous because it is easy to remember and because it is Shakespeare, or is there more to it than that?
Doubting whether "to be or not to be" is fairly vague, which attracts the appeal of many, because each person interprets it in his or her own way. However, Hamlet questions whether there is more nobility in a stoic or in a non-conformist: "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" (III. i. 65-68).
Here we see a man who questions whether to act upon his destiny or to accept life as it treats him. He is undecided whether to take his life into his own hands or not. I believe any man who does not form his life is a wimp, not a stoic. Stoicism at least implies that the person chose to become a stoic, but if a man choses nothing, and lets life live him, then what is the point?
The question also refers to nobility in one's mind, which means that the only one who needs to accept us is ourselves, for nobility in the mind is not the same as nobility in blood, etc... We must question whether Hamlet can ever live with himself as a useless person, lacking determination.
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