Lincoln and Shakespeare

[RJNorton]

This portion of a lecture by Dickey during the session explores President Lincoln's knowledge of Shakespeare and his special affinity for Macbeth."

In a letter to actor James H. Hackett written on August 17, 1863, Lincoln wrote, "For one of my age I have seen very little of the drama...Some of Shakespeare's plays I have never read; while others I have gone over perhaps as frequently as any unprofessional reader...I think nothing equals "Macbeth." It is wonderful. Unlike you gentlemen of the profession, I think the soliloquy in "Hamlet" surpasses that commencing "To be or not to be."