英文原文：“To be,or not to be:that is the question”.
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 heartache, 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,
Th' 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 th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? 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- 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.
这是莎士比亚四大悲剧之一《哈姆莱特》中主人公哈姆莱特最著名的独白,出现在第三幕第一场,反映了他在重压之下的烦恼与失望、苦闷与彷徨。该剧与荷马的史诗《伊里亚特》、但丁的《神曲》及歌德的《浮士德》并列，被誉为“欧洲文学四大名著”。
拓展资料：
《哈姆莱特》剧情讲的是丹麦王子哈姆莱特为父复仇的故事。悲剧虽然取材于丹麦历史，但是深刻地揭露了封建社会宫廷内部的腐化和堕落的尖锐的斗争。哈姆莱特替父报仇，杀死他的叔父，他自己也被叔父暗算，在与雷欧提斯的决斗中中毒剑身亡。
《哈姆莱特》不仅显示了莎士比亚思想的深刻，还显示出作者艺术上的成熟和才华。剧中除了描写哈姆莱特的复仇情节线索之外，还安排了雷欧提斯和挪威王子福丁布拉斯的两条复仇线索，以相互联系和衬托。
在复仇情节之外，莎士比亚还写了哈姆莱特和奥菲丽娅之间的爱情，哈姆莱特和霍拉旭之间的真诚友谊，哈姆莱特和背叛自己父王的母亲复杂的关系等。