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Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy

Here is the granddaddy of all soliloquies, from Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet" (1594).
22 words 2153 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. noble
    having high or elevated character
    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.
  2. fortune
    your overall circumstances or condition in life
    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.
  3. heir
    a person entitled by law to inherit the estate of another
    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.
  4. consummation
    the act of bringing to completion or fruition
    'tis a consummation
    Devoutly to be wish'd.
  5. mortal
    subject to death
    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.
  6. calamity
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
    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.
  7. scorn
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
  8. pang
    a sudden sharp feeling
    The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
  9. despise
    look down on with disdain or disgust
    The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
  10. insolence
    the trait of being rude and impertinent
    The insolence of office,
  11. spurn
    reject with contempt
    ...the spurns
    That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
  12. merit
    the quality of being deserving
    ...the spurns
    That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
  13. weary
    physically and mentally fatigued
    To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
  14. dread
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    But that the dread of something after death,
  15. conscience
    motivation deriving from ethical or moral principles
    Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
  16. native
    belonging to one by birth
    And thus the native hue of resolution
    Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
  17. hue
    the quality of a color determined by its dominant wavelength
    And thus the native hue of resolution
    Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
  18. resolution
    a decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner
    And thus the native hue of resolution
    Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
  19. enterprise
    a purposeful or industrious undertaking
    And enterprise of great pitch and moment
  20. awry
    turned or twisted to one side
    With this regard their currents turn awry
  21. nymph
    a minor nature goddess depicted as a beautiful maiden
    The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
    Be all my sins remembered.
  22. orison
    reverent petition to a deity
    The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
    Be all my sins remembered.
Created on Fri Jan 27 10:49:14 EST 2012 (updated Sun Jan 29 20:55:31 EST 2012)

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