To Be or Not to Be

by Douglas Bruster, Ewan Fernie (Series Editor), Simon Palfrey (Series Editor)

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.

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2007

Reviews

[Helen Mears · Rating 5 out of 5]

Douglas Bruster devotes a whole book to an in depth study of Hamlet's most famous speech. He offers linguistic and literary analyses as well as exploring thematic and contextual influences. Fascinating.

[Annemarie]

My Shakespeare professor wrote this book, an in-depth analysis of the most famous soliloquy from the most famous play in the English language.

[Tom Delise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent in-depth analysis of "the speech."