Reading Shakespeare's Soliloquies Text, Theatre, Film [Hardcover]

'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.

List of Illustrations
Preface

Part I
Soliloquies in Practice
1. Is this a dagger?
2. Attributes of soliloquy

Part II
Soliloquies in Theory
1. Now I am alone
2. Origins
3. Soliloquies and Self
4. Staging Soliloquies
5. Some Kinds of Soliloquy
6. The Mind's Construction

Part III
Soliloquies in Performance
Introduction
1. Noma Dumezweni
2. Mariah Gale
3. Lucian Msamati
4. Pippa Nixon
5. Jonjo O'Neill
6. Jonathan Slinger
7. Alex Waldmann
8. Dame Harriet Walter

Part IV
Soliloquies in Play
Preface
1. Richard inRichard III, withHenry VI, Part 3
2.Romeo and Juliet
3.Othello

Notes
Select Bibliography
Index