to think that 'to be or not to be' is a weird slogan...

[MothershipG]

...for a girl's t-shirt? Ages 5 and up.

Or am I over thinking it? But surely that's Hamlet contemplating suicide?

It means to be alive or to be dead, so YANBU. Where is this T shirt being sold?

YANBU - you're right about the origin of the phrase - and TBH it doesn't mean much out of context, so its an odd choice for a small child's t-shirt.

Primark!

I did wonder if maybe English wasn't the first language of the designer?

I would imagine being a young child's t.shirt it means (in this case) 'I can be whatever I want because I have my whole life ahead'?

That's my take anyway

Perhaps its the first in a series of 'inappropriate quotations from great literature' T-shirts.

We should think of others and create a line of tshirts

How about the opening line of pride and prejudice for little girls. After all they must be in want of a husband

He's not contemplating suicide he's contemplating murder.

It's a lot better than some of the other shite on the market, anything with princess or daddy's girl YUK YUK YUK.

It's suicide - he's weighing up existance against "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" ie shit that happens which makes existance crap sometimes. Not appropriate for a child's t-shirt, but mostly stupid and meaningless in that context.

Wondering if there was something on the back of the t-shirt, actually. "To be or not to be.... FABULOUS!!"

Although for missing the context, my favourite was an organisation that had lifted this quote from Anthony and Cleopatra... "What's brave, what's noble, let's do it"... brilliant, but continues... "after the high Roman fashion, and make death proud to take us" and is Cleopatra making up her mind to kill herself with an asp.

Defintely about suicide - at this point in the plot he hasn't seen his father's ghost yet, and he's just been nagged not to look so miserable and grief-stricken by his mum and stepdad. And he wishes it would all just stop, except he doesn't know what happens after you die and thinks God would be pissed off at him if he topped himself.

Very cheery thoughts for a child's t-shirt!

Not murder, that dilemma comes later. Definitely suicide, whether he should 'shuffle off this mortal coil' and all that jazz.

Very odd on a small child's t-shirt. Are you sure you didn't miss a few words out when you were reading it? To be a WAG or not to be a WAG This is Primark after all, purveyors of such gems as 'Junior Popstar', 'I want to be rich' and other nauseating slogans.