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Talking to yourself in Shakespeare

This is a English literature and creative writing Subject Spotlight with Dr Mary Ann Lund from University of Leicester. An interactive, cinematic course taster experience to allow students to gain insights into what it's like to study English literature and creative writing.

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Join Dr Mary Ann Lund as she considers the origins of the soliloquy throughout history in literature, theatre and film, whilst exploring the power of soliloquies in Shakespeare’s plays. Mary Ann also breaks down the barrier between reading and understanding Shakespeare’s work with a fascinating activity around Hamlet’s infamous “To be, or not to be...” soliloquy.

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About University of Leicester

The University of Leicester aims to educate, equip and encourage their students to forge a better future. As Citizens of Change, Leicester's research excellence is changing lives and having transformative impact across the globe. Ranked as a Top 30 University, their students and staff make up a powerhouse for ground-breaking research, including being in the top ten UK universities for their COVID-19 research; locating the remains of King Richard III; and the discovery of DNA fingerprinting. Located right in the heart of the East Midlands, Leicester prides itself in being one of the UK’s most multi-cultural cities, playing host to a number of cultural festivals such as a colorful Caribbean Carnival and the largest Diwali celebrations outside of India.

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Meet the academics

Dr Mary Ann Lund

Dr Mary Ann Lund is Associate Professor in Renaissance English Literature at the University of Leicester. She teaches and researches English Literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with special interests in melancholy religious writing medicine and non-fictional prose. Mary studied at St Peter’s College University of Oxford. Before moving to the University of Leicester in 2010 she was Junior Research Fellow at Mansfield College Oxford, and is still one of the editors of The Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne. Alongside her teaching and research Mary also enjoys working on outreach projects locally and across the country. Mary's primary research interests are in literature religion and medicine of the early modern period. Her interest in prose writing, religion and medicine began with her monograph on The Anatomy of Melancholy, which analyses the author Robert Burton's claim that his work is designed to have curative effects on the reader afflicted with melancholy. Mary has since written a second book - A User's Guide to Melancholy, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Burton's masterpiece. Mary is widely published, and has done various work with TV, radio and media.

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