Suicide, which comes from the Latin phrase sui cade, "to kill oneself", is a leading cause of death worldwide. Every year, more than one million people commit suicide, successfully ending any feelings of hopelessness, pressure or suffering they experienced in life. Yet statistics show that the number of non-fatal suicide attempts exceeds the number of actually completed suicides. Failed attempts to take one's own life reveal the deep and threatening uncertainties that human beings have about death. Such questions as to whether life or death is better flow into human perception. Fear of the unknown often paralyzes the actions you intend to take. Likewise, fear of death and the afterlife often leads people to postpone death, allowing their misery and pain to continue. Death hovers in the minds of human beings both consciously and unconsciously, leading them to search for the countless ambiguities and mysteries surrounding life, existence and the world. Thoughts and questions revolving around life and death are so common that several writers heavily incorporate them as themes into the plots of their literary works. One of the most important examples of the reflection on life versus death is found in a soliloquy in Hamlet, where the crown prince of Denmark acknowledges the possibility of suicide to end his agony. Hamlet's contemplation of the pros and cons between life and death in Shakespeare's acclaimed tragedy reveals to the reader profound insight into Hamlet's character and personality, the links between thought and action, and the ambiguities of life. After the death of his father, Hamlet falls into a state of depression. In bitter mourning, Hamlet reacts negatively to his mother's rapid remarriage, the que...... middle of paper ......many known historical figures including Mark Antony, Cleopatra of Egypt, Virginia Woolf, Adolf Hitler , Ernest Hemingway and Vincent van Gogh took their own lives. Radical changes have occurred that have shifted and changed not only people's social and moral values, but also political and religious values. Since suicide for Christians was once considered a sin, the increase in the suicide rate today means a loss of strength of a rigorous, persistent and traditional ideology. More and more people are wondering about the enigmas of existence, life and death, but fewer and fewer are willing to endure the suffering of life to postpone the fear that accompanies death. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Literature "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark": an introduction to reading and writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th edition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print