5th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Time: 11:30-11:50
Room: 303
Presenter: Stephanie Bailey
Title: The Slower of Two Deaths: Shakespeare’s Message on Lying as Shown Through Puns in "Sonnet 138" and Hamlet
Developed under the guidance of Dr. Eric Dunnum, English

In Hamlet, Shakespeare explores the existence of truth and the stakes of truth-telling by using puns on the verb “lie.” The “lying” puns reveal Shakespeare’s bold and complicated suggestion that truth and lies are equally difficult to handle—but lies offer more control.