Literary Elements

Metaphors

"The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" (lines 58)

The first metaphor of Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy. This particular metaphor translates as "the trials and tribulations of destiny". It is said in counter to the following metaphor:

"Or to take arms against a sea of trouble" (lines 59)

This second metaphor said as a direct opposition to the former means to fight back against the obstacles and problems life has thrown at you. 

Put together, Hamlet is debating whether or not it is nobler to quietly accept everything happening or stand up and refuse to succumb. 

Some other metaphors of interest include:

"virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it"

Hamlet says here that no matter how much we try to resist, our natural inclination towards sin will make itself known. This metaphor is rooted on gardening; according to dictionaries, "inoculate" means to graft and the "stock" is the root where the plant is grafted. So, he is basically saying that virtue cannot overtake the natural root of our nature -- sin.

(The Famous) Soliloquy

          "To be, or not to be; that is the question."

          In this soliloquy, Hamlet debates the notion of life or death. It is a very derogative and suicidal speech, and he seems to be battling with himself over whether or not to kill himself. He weighs the options: 

          "whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune[...] to die, to sleep; to sleep perchance to dream." 

          He explains life as hard and rigorous trials and tests, a heartache and contrasts this with death which he describes as peaceful and calm, with none of the worries of life. "The calm waters" of death seems appealing to some compared to the tortuous depths of life, and problems.

   

Monologues

 HAMLET
121   Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder
122   of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest; but yet I
123   could accuse me of such things that it were better my
124   mother had not borne me: I am very proud, revengeful,
125   ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have
126   thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape,
127   or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do
128   crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves,
129   all; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery.
130   Where's your father?

In this monologue Hamlet begins with a possible wordplay on the term "nunnery"; in slang terms this would refer to a brothel. Hamlet tells Ophelia to get thee to a nunnery because he does not want Ophelia to have children with him or almost about anyone for the matter because according to him they are all sinners. Then Hamlet goes on to say that he is a horrible person and tells Ophelia not to believe him or anyone. Also, a distinct disappearance of Shakespeare's iambic pentameter is present; the text has become prose, not verse. Usually when Shakespeare uses prose it is to emphasize the class difference between nobles and peasants. However, in this particular scene, it is used on nobility, Hamlet Prince of Denmark, suggesting a change in tone and the audience can imagine that Hamlet is steadily getting more and more manic as from this monologue onward he does not revert back to verse, especially judging Ophelia's distraught exclamations towards the end of their conversation pleading the Heavens to restore his sanity as she believes Hamlet was going mad right in front of her.