莎士比亚的“to be or not to be”出自他的经典悲剧作品《哈姆雷特》（Hamlet）。全句为：

> 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 heart-ache, 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: aye, 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 @ref.

这句话是哈姆雷特在第三幕第一场中的一段著名独白，表达了他对生死、命运和人生选择的深刻思考。