Original: To be, or not to be- that is the question:
Modern: To live, or not to live- that is what I need to decide:

Original: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
Modern: Whether it’s more honorable to endure

Original: The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Modern: The attacks and misfortunes of terrible luck

Original: Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
Modern: Or to fight back against an ocean of problems,

Original: And by opposing end them. To die- to sleep-
Modern: And by fighting them, put an end to them. To die- to sleep-

Original: No more; and by a sleep to say we end
Modern: Nothing more; and by sleeping we could end

Original: The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
Modern: The heartbreak, and the countless painful experiences

Original: That flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummation
Modern: That human beings must face. It’s an ending

Original: Devoutly to be wish’d. To die- to sleep.
Modern: To be deeply wished for. To die- to sleep.

Original: To sleep- perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub!
Modern: To sleep- maybe to dream: yes, there’s the problem!

Original: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
Modern: Because in that sleep of death, what dreams might come

Original: When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Modern: When we have gotten rid of this earthly life,

Original: Must give us pause. There’s the respect
Modern: Must make us stop and think. That’s the consideration

Original: That makes calamity of so long life.
Modern: That makes disaster last so long in life.

Original: For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Modern: Because who would put up with life’s punishments and insults,

Original: Th’ oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
Modern: The bully’s injustice, the arrogant person’s insults,

Original: The pangs of despis’d love, the law’s delay,
Modern: The pain of rejected love, the slowness of justice,

Original: The insolence of office, and the spurns
Modern: The rudeness of officials, and the rejections

Original: That patient merit of th’ unworthy takes,
Modern: That good people receive from those who don’t deserve power,

Original: When he himself might his quietus make
Modern: When he could settle his own account

Original: With a bare bodkin? Who would these fardels bear,
Modern: With just a simple dagger? Who would carry these burdens,

Original: To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
Modern: To groan and struggle under a tiring life,

Original: But that the dread of something after death-
Modern: Except for the fear of something after death-

Original: The undiscover’d country, from whose bourn
Modern: The unexplored land, from whose boundary

Original: No traveller returns- puzzles the will,
Modern: No traveler returns- confuses our determination,

Original: And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Modern: And makes us choose to endure the troubles we know

Original: Than fly to others that we know not of?
Modern: Rather than escape to others we don’t know about?

Original: Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
Modern: So overthinking does make cowards of us all,

Original: And thus the native hue of resolution
Modern: And so the natural color of determination

Original: Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
Modern: Is made pale and sickly by too much thinking,

Original: And enterprises of great pith and moment
Modern: And plans of great importance and significance

Original: With this regard their currents turn awry
Modern: Because of this consideration change their direction

Original: And lose the name of action.- Soft you now!
Modern: And never become action.- Wait, be quiet now!

Original: The fair Ophelia!- Nymph, in thy orisons
Modern: The beautiful Ophelia!- Lady, in your prayers

Original: Be all my sins rememb’red.
Modern: Remember all my sins.

In Act III, Scene 1 of Hamlet, the scene opens with King Claudius and Queen Gertrude meeting with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to learn about their attempts to discover the cause of Hamlet’s strange behavior. The two courtiers report that while Hamlet acknowledged feeling distracted, he would not reveal the specific source of his troubles, though he did show some interest when they mentioned the arrival of the players. Polonius then enters and informs the King and Queen of his plan to hide behind a tapestry to overhear a conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia, while Claudius will also conceal himself to observe Hamlet’s behavior toward the young woman.

After Gertrude exits and the men hide, Ophelia is positioned with a prayer book as Hamlet enters and delivers his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy, contemplating the nature of existence, death, and the fear of the unknown that keeps people enduring life’s hardships. When Hamlet notices Ophelia, their conversation quickly turns tense and bitter. He speaks harshly about women’s fickleness and strongly urges her to enter a nunnery, suggesting that marriage breeds only sinners. His behavior becomes increasingly erratic and cruel, leaving Ophelia distressed and lamenting the apparent loss of his noble mind. After Hamlet’s exit, Claudius emerges from hiding, convinced that Hamlet’s affliction stems not from love but from something more dangerous, and decides to send him to England, while Polonius still believes unrequited love is the cause and suggests further eavesdropping.

Hamlet tells the story of Prince Hamlet of Denmark, who is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased father. The ghost reveals that he was murdered by Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, who has now married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude and assumed the throne. Commanded by his father’s spirit to seek revenge, Hamlet struggles with doubt, melancholy, and the moral complexity of his task. To investigate the ghost’s claims and plan his revenge, he feigns madness, which creates tension throughout the Danish court.

As Hamlet deliberates, his erratic behavior affects everyone around him, particularly his love interest Ophelia, daughter of the king’s advisor Polonius. To test Claudius’s guilt, Hamlet stages a play mirroring his father’s murder, which confirms the king’s culpability. However, Hamlet’s actions become increasingly destructive—he accidentally kills Polonius while the old man spies on him, and his rejection of Ophelia contributes to her descent into genuine madness and eventual drowning.

The play reaches its climax when Ophelia’s brother Laertes returns to avenge his father’s death. Claudius manipulates Laertes into challenging Hamlet to a duel, secretly poisoning Laertes’s sword and preparing poisoned wine as backup. The final scene erupts in tragedy: during the duel, both Hamlet and Laertes are wounded by the poisoned blade, Gertrude accidentally drinks the poisoned wine, and Hamlet finally kills Claudius. As Hamlet dies, he names Prince Fortinbras of Norway as Denmark’s next ruler, bringing the cycle of revenge and political instability to a close. The play ends with Fortinbras restoring order to the Danish court as bodies are carried off in a funeral march.