Reading Shakespeare's Soliloquies : Text, Theatre, Film
Author(s): Neil Corcoran
'Now I am alone,' says Hamlet before speaking a soliloquy. But what is a Shakespearean soliloquy? How has it been understood in literary and theatrical history? How does it work in screen versions of Shakespeare? What influence has it had? Neil Corcoran offers a thorough exploration and explanation of the origin, nature, development and reception of Shakespeare's soliloquies. Divided into four parts, the book supplies the historical, dramatic and theoretical contexts necessary to understanding, offers extensive and insightful close readings of particular soliloquies and includes interviews with eight renowned Shakespearean actors providing details of the practical performance of the soliloquy.
A comprehensive study of a key aspect of Shakespeare's dramatic art, this book is ideal for students and theatre-goers keen to understand the complexities and rewards of Shakespeare's unique use of the soliloquy.
Review(s):
"Reduces the scale of dramatic guidework to a more portable and performable unit of study…It is clear that Reading Shakespeare’s Soliloquies has great value for those teaching Shakespeare in a conservatory setting. Its wider importance, though, is in demonstrating that the soliloquy’s full uses and effects depend upon putting it under such exquisitely three-dimensional scrutiny." - Studies in English Literature 1500-1900
ISBN: 9781474253505