By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have / Immortal longings in me’: so begins Cleopatra’s final speech in Shakespeare’s tragedy Antony and Cleopatra. Her ‘immortal longings’ are her longings for immortality, her desire to leave behind the mortal world and enter the next.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Soft you, a word or two before you go’: so begins Othello’s last major speech before he stabs himself. His last words, famously, are ‘I kiss’d thee ere I kill’d thee’. But between these two lines are a number of other noteworthy moments which call out for closer textual analysis. Let’s go through Othello’s speech, which can be found in Act 5 Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Othello, and offer a summary and analysis of his language and meaning as we go.
Contrary to popular belief, T. S. Eliot did not come up with the phrase ‘objective correlative’. However, he did co-opt that expression to describe one of his most famous and influential theories of literature, specifically in relation to Shakespeare’s work. What did Eliot mean by ‘objective correlative’?
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Although it is not his most famous soliloquy from the play, Hamlet’s ‘’Tis now the very witching time of night’ speech, which brings Act 3 Scene 2 to a close, is notable for the imagery Hamlet uses as he prepares to go and speak to his mother, Gertrude.
Indeed, as the very phrase ‘witching time of night’ suggests, this speech is one of the reasons Hamlet is so often considered a ‘Gothic’ play, along with its castle setting, its Ghost, and its dark secret threatening to tear the family and kingdom apart.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘If We Shadows Have Offended’ is the opening line of Puck’s closing speech from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In summary, the speech sees Puck (also known as Robin Goodfellow) seeking forgiveness from the audience if the fairies (including Puck himself) have ‘offended’ any of the audience with their antics.