Shakespeare And The History Of Soliloquies

by James E. Hirsh

Provides the first systematic and comprehensive account of the conventions governing soliloquies in Western drama from ancient times to the twentieth century. Over the course of theatrical history, there have been several kinds of soliloquies. Shakespeare's soliloquies are not only the most interesting and the most famous, but also the most misunderstood, and several chapters examine them in detail. The present study is based on a painstaking analysis of the actual practices of dramatists from each age of theatrical history. This investigation has uncovered evidence that refutes long-standing commonplaces about soliloquies in general, about Shakespeare's soliloquies in particular, and especially about the "to be, or not to be" episode. 'Shakespeare and the history of Soliloquies' casts new lights on historical changes in the artistic representation of human beings and, because representations cannot be entirely disentangled from perception, on historical changes in the ways human being

470 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2003

Reviews

[Gabriel Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Because concepts about human psychology and society are interwined with the ways in which dramatic characters are presented, false assumptions about Shakespeare’s soliloquies have resulted in false assumptions about the history of ways in which human beings have perceived themselves.”