To be or not to be / Douglas Bruster.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bruster, Douglas, author.

Series:

Shakespeare now!

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Hamlet--Criticism, Textual.

Shakespeare, William.

Soliloquy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (125 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London : Continuum, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy is quoted more often than any other passage in Shakespeare. It is arguably the most famous speech in the Western world - though few of us can remember much about it. This book carefully unpacks the individual words, phrases and sentences of Hamlet's soliloquy in order to reveal how and why it has achieved its remarkable hold on our culture. Hamlet's speech asks us to ask some of the most serious questions there are regarding knowledge and existence. In it, Shakespeare also expands the limits of the English language. Douglas Bruster therefore reads Hamlet's famous speech in "slow motion" to highlight its material, philosophical and cultural meaning and its resonance for generations of actors, playgoers and readers."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; General Editors' Preface; 1 In the Shakespeare Museum; 2 What are the Questions?; 3 There's the Rub; 4 How Does it Mean? (The Speech as Poem); 5 The Name of Action (The Speech in Context); 6 Not One Speech but Three, or There's the Point'; 7 Consummation (Some Conclusions); 8 Acknowledgments and Further Reading; Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [105]-106) index.

ISBN:

9786613122506

9781472555533

1472555538

9781283122504

1283122502

9781441125002

1441125000

OCLC:

727649534