Lincoln and Shakespeare at Peoria

Abstract Abraham Lincoln famously studied Shakespeare yet, he rarely quoted the Bard. In his “Speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act at Peoria, Illinois,” three times he quotes and at least twice he alludes to Shakespeare. Those references include, chronologically: Hamlet (3.3.97), two subtle references to Richard III and Henry IV Part 1, Macbeth (3.2.55), and a reference to either Macbeth or Hamlet. The importance of the Peoria Speech in Lincoln’s career is well attested. A careful analysis of these references, both as Lincoln used them, and in their original context, reveals Lincoln’s profound grasp of Shakespeare and (given Peoria’s significance) Shakespeare’s crucial influence on Lincoln’s thought and statesmanship.