--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The question is not \"To be or not to be,\"…" description: "\"The question is not \"To be or not to be,\" it is what we should be until we are not.\" — Soren Kierkegaard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/soren-kierkegaard-578_be-or-not-to-be_the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-i_554678.jpg" --- # The question is not "To be or not to be," it is what we… ![“The question is not "To be or not to be," it is what we should be until we are not.” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/soren-kierkegaard-578_be-or-not-to-be_the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-i_554678.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/soren-kierkegaard-578_be-or-not-to-be_the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-i_554678.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/soren-kierkegaard-578_be-or-not-to-be_the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-i_554678.jpg) > “The question is not "To be or not to be," it is what we should be until we are not.” [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existence is defined by the roles we adopt, not merely by abstract contemplation of being. **In simple terms:** We become defined by our actions and identities over time. Key Takeaway Focus on purposeful living. Themes existence identity purpose Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - personal development - ethical decisions - life planning Key Concepts existentialism self-creation Questions to Reflect On - What roles define you today? - How might you evolve beyond them? A Different Perspective It may overlook structural constraints on identity formation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [ "To be or not to be is" \[by William Shakespeare\] beyond anything I can comprehend. I understand it on a superficial level, but the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/to-be-or-not-to-be-is-by-william-shakespeare-beyond-anything-i-can/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [To be, or not to be: what a question!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-or-not-to-be-what-a-question/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To die, to sleep - To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub, For in this sleep of death what dreams may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-die-to-sleep-to-sleep-perchance-to-dream-ay-there-s-the-rub-for-in-3/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Listen to me: a family man is never a real family man. An assassin is never entirely assassin. They play a role, you understand.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/listen-to-me-a-family-man-is-never-a-real-family-man-an-assassin-is/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is slicked o'er with the pale cast of thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thus-conscience-does-make-cowards-of-us-all-and-thus-the-native-hue/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [To take arms against a sea of troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-take-arms-against-a-sea-of-troubles/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/for-in-that-sleep-of-death-what-dreams-may-come/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [To die: - to sleep: No more; and, by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-die-to-sleep-no-more-and-by-a-sleep-to-say-we-end-the-heart-ache/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [To be or not to be is not the question. The question is whether you can transcend these notions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/to-be-or-not-to-be-is-not-the-question-the-question-is-whether-you/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [My favorite play is Hamlet. It was my first love when it comes to Shakespeare, and I've read it and seen it performed more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-doescher/my-favorite-play-is-hamlet-it-was-my-first-love-when-it-comes-to/) [Ian Doescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-doescher/) > [“To be or not to be, that is the choice”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-choice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/nymph-in-thy-orisons-be-all-my-sins-remembered/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-question-whether-tis-nobler-in-the-2/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It upsets women to be, or not to be, stared at hungrily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/it-upsets-women-to-be-or-not-to-be-stared-at-hungrily/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Everything necessarily is or is not, and will be or will not be; but one cannot divide and say that one or the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/everything-necessarily-is-or-is-not-and-will-be-or-will-not-be-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More by Soren Kierkegaard > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Be that self which one truly is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/be-that-self-which-one-truly-is/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I go fishing for a thousand monsters in the depths of my own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-go-fishing-for-a-thousand-monsters-in-the-depths-of-my-own-self/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Future is everything that past has forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/future-is-everything-that-past-has-forgotten/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Without risk, faith is an impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/without-risk-faith-is-an-impossibility/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have only one confidant, and that is the silence of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-only-one-confidant-and-that-is-the-silence-of-night/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A road well begun is the battle half won. The important thing is to make a beginning and get under way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-road-well-begun-is-the-battle-half-won-the-important-thing-is-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have, I believe, the courage to doubt everything; I have, I believe, the courage to fight against everything; but I do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-i-believe-the-courage-to-doubt-everything-i-have-i-believe-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) [Explore all 462 Soren Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More Be or not to be quotes > [ "To be or not to be is" \[by William Shakespeare\] beyond anything I can comprehend. I understand it on a superficial level, but the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/to-be-or-not-to-be-is-by-william-shakespeare-beyond-anything-i-can/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [It upsets women to be, or not to be, stared at hungrily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/it-upsets-women-to-be-or-not-to-be-stared-at-hungrily/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-question-whether-tis-nobler-in-the-2/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/nymph-in-thy-orisons-be-all-my-sins-remembered/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“To be or not to be, that is the choice”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-choice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My favorite play is Hamlet. It was my first love when it comes to Shakespeare, and I've read it and seen it performed more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-doescher/my-favorite-play-is-hamlet-it-was-my-first-love-when-it-comes-to/) [Ian Doescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-doescher/) > [To be or not to be is not the question. The question is whether you can transcend these notions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/to-be-or-not-to-be-is-not-the-question-the-question-is-whether-you/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [To die: - to sleep: No more; and, by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-die-to-sleep-no-more-and-by-a-sleep-to-say-we-end-the-heart-ache/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/for-in-that-sleep-of-death-what-dreams-may-come/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [To take arms against a sea of troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-take-arms-against-a-sea-of-troubles/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is slicked o'er with the pale cast of thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thus-conscience-does-make-cowards-of-us-all-and-thus-the-native-hue/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Listen to me: a family man is never a real family man. An assassin is never entirely assassin. They play a role, you understand.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/listen-to-me-a-family-man-is-never-a-real-family-man-an-assassin-is/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [To die, to sleep - To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub, For in this sleep of death what dreams may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-die-to-sleep-to-sleep-perchance-to-dream-ay-there-s-the-rub-for-in-3/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [To be, or not to be: what a question!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-or-not-to-be-what-a-question/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything necessarily is or is not, and will be or will not be; but one cannot divide and say that one or the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/everything-necessarily-is-or-is-not-and-will-be-or-will-not-be-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) Browse all 17 Be or not to be quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The question is not \"To be or not to be,\" it is what we should be until we are not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Soren Kierkegaard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-it-is-what-we-should-be-until/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be or not to be" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-it-is-what-we-should-be-until/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/soren-kierkegaard-578_be-or-not-to-be_the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-i_554678.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/soren-kierkegaard-578_be-or-not-to-be_the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-i_554678.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0f/soren-kierkegaard-578_be-or-not-to-be_the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-i_554678.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The question is not \"To be or not to be,\" it is what we should be until we are not.” — Soren Kierkegaard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Soren Kierkegaard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The question is not \"To be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-it-is-what-we-should-be-until/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-question-is-not-to-be-or-not-to-be-it-is-what-we-should-be-until/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```