Hamlet's to be or not to be

[Nightshade]

I was looking at this speech recently
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: ay, 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

and it occured to me hes talking about reasons for and against suicide isnt he?
just a thought and I knowq this really shouldnt be posted here but it occurred to me it might get more attention here as it were.
:)

[baddad]

Yes.....he is contemplating the benefits of suicide, but fears a suicide/death may not be the actual ending of all suffering, but instead may leave a soul conscious of thought yet without recourse of any kind of escape.......perhaps death is no escape at all from life's travails..........

[mono]

Indeed, as many readers have noticed, Shakespeare's language can sound a little ambiguous in meaning, which probably contributes to readers' immense numbers of different perspectives. I have always thought of this specifically famous passage referring to suicide, and I feel relieved that others agree; but, it seems, throughout the whole play, numerous characters contemplate the suffering of life versus the suffering of death, and whatever may proceed from that point. The meaning appears almost deriving from Buddhist thought, whose great discussions revolve much around the inevitable suffering of life (but never declaring any killing as the best option).