To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

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: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.

– William Shakespeare

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1. Hamlet is in a very melancholic state and contemplating suicide. Using sleep as a metaphor for death, he longs for that sleep, but the same time wonders about the fearful uncertainty of what comes after death – "what dreams may come."

William Shakespeare Quotes