Shakespeare and the Question

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Date

2019-03

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Indiana University South Bend

Abstract

Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" speech (a soliloquy, really) comes, in a certain sense, out of nowhere. It is strange and unusual in several ways. At the same time, because it begins with the most familiar line in Shakespeare's plays, we have the sense that we already know what it means. In this talk I will slow down our reading of this famous passage in order to pay attention to the significance of the phrasing in the context of early modern thought. This attention and questioning will defamiliarize our experience of Shakespeare's most memorable line, rendering it readable as a radical break of historical significance. Although in general we have no clear conception of why the line is important, we feel that it is; and I'll try to explain why we do and why it is.

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A recording of the presentation may be found here: https://youtu.be/z4WNIK78BXk

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Presentation