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the experience of reading in Britain, from 1450 to 1945...

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Record Number: 771


Reading Experience:

Evidence:

Macaulay's marginalia in his copy of Hamlet, by the lines 'Dost thou hear?/ Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice,/ And could of men distinguish, her election/ Hath sealed thee for herself, - ' : "An exquisitely beautiful scene. It always moved me more than any other in the play. There is something very striking in the way in which Hamlet, a man of a gentle nature, quick in speculation, morbidly sluggish in action, unfit to struggle with the real evils of life, and finding himself plunged into the midst of them, - delights to repose on the strong mind of a man who had been severely tried, and who had learned stoicism from experience. There is wonderful truth in this."

Century:

1800-1849, 1850-1899

Date:

Between 1800 and 1859

Country:

n/a

Time

n/a

Place:

n/a

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown


Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Thomas Babington Macaulay

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

25 Oct 1800

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Historian and Critic

Religion:

Church of England

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

n/a

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a


Additional Comments:

n/a



Text Being Read:

Author:

William Shakespeare

Title:

Hamlet

Genre:

Drama

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

owned


Source Information:

Record ID:

771

Source:

Print

Author:

Thomas Babington Macaulay

Editor:

George Otto Trevelyan

Title:

The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay

Place of Publication:

Oxford

Date of Publication:

1978

Vol:

2

Page:

413

Additional Comments:

In chapter on Macaulay's marginal notes

Citation:

Thomas Babington Macaulay, George Otto Trevelyan (ed.), The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay (Oxford, 1978), 2, p. 413, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=771, accessed: 25 April 2024


Additional Comments:

None

   
   
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