# slings and arrows of misfortune an allusion to lines from William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet (ca. 1601), in which Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, revenges the death of his father. The greatness of this play lies in the unique and thoughtful nature of Hamlet whose temper is philosophical rather than active. He has a preoccupation with the nature and consequences of man's actions which has led critics to call him "the first modern man." Hamlet contemplates life and death in the following lines of this play: "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?" The expression is used figuratively in some lectures to mean the "assaults or tribulations of life."