One of the most famous quotes from the works of William Shakespeare is “To be or not to be, that is the question”. This quote is from Hamlet and was spoken by Hamlet. The quote can be interpreted in many ways, but Hamlet was speaking about his own philosophy. Hamlet frequently makes remarks regarding his philosophy of life, whether it be love, loyalty, family, etc. Additionally, Hamlet's philosophy may help explain the disappearance of the play's characters. William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet around 1600. However, Hamlet was not performed at Lifetime until 1602. William Shakespeare got his ideas for his plays from earlier literary works. Therefore, he could have created the story of Hamlet from several different resources, including using story fragments from the 12th century. Shakespeare first wrote Hamlet in rough form and as the story of a Danish prince whose uncle murders his father, marries his mother, and claims the throne. The prince pretends to shake off his uncle's actions to reject him, allowing the prince to ultimately kill his uncle to avenge his father's death. However, Shakespeare ultimately altered the main storyline by transforming Hamlet into a philosophical-minded prince; one who would delay his quest for revenge because he doesn't know if his uncle really killed his father. Additionally, Shakespeare keeps his audience guessing throughout the play. For example, he doesn't really know whether Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, shares the guilt or not; whether Ophelia and Hamlet remain in love or not; and even leaves a mystery as to how Ophelia died. Shakespeare wants to make sure his audience realizes the answers to some of the questions... middle of paper..., but seems sad. Hamlet indicates that he feels a sickness in his heart, but he has resigned himself to the idea of ​​death and is no longer afraid of the unknown of the afterlife. The play does not clearly explain how or why Hamlet experiences this change in emotions. Earlier in the play, Hamlet seemed obsessed with himself and his love for his family. However, as the play draws to a close, Hamlet appears sympathetic towards the others, but still does not seem to take responsibility for Polonius' murder. On the other hand, Hamlet seems to be in shock over Ophelia's death. It's quite a contrast of emotions. Finally, Hamlet is killed by Laertes. This is ironic in that Hamlet's very act of killing Polonius earlier is ultimately what led to his own death. Laertes killed Hamlet to avenge the death of Polonius. Hamlet's death is neither shameful nor heroic.