The University of Delaware Library has announced a Shakespeare series talk by Jay L. Halio, UD professor emeritus of English, at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 6, in the Class of 1941 Lecture Room of the Morris Library.

Halio’s talk on "The Mysteries of Hamlet" considers a number of questions that the play raises but that it provides no satisfactory answers to, as many scholars and critics have found. Examples: Why do Horatio and Marcellus decide to tell Hamlet about the Ghost and not the King? What exactly does the Ghost demand from Hamlet, and how is it possible to carry the charge out and still obey the negative injunctions to not taint his mind or proceed through his mother?

Halio joined the UD faculty in 1968. He had taught at the University of California, Davis, when his college classmate from Syracuse University invited him to be a candidate for full professor at UD.

Although teaching and research have always been his first love, Halio has served in a number of administrative capacities, such as associate provost for instruction and, most recently, interim director of Jewish Studies.

Among Halio’s books are editions of King Lear, The Merchant of Venice and Henry the Eighth. He is also the author of books and articles on contemporary fiction, including books on the novelists Angus Wilson and Philip Roth.

For information on all Shakespeare-related events, visit this website for a brochure.

RSVPs are strongly encouraged via email at rsvp-library@winsor.lib.udel.edu. Walk-ins are welcome.