From Anthony and Cleopatra to King Lear, Orlaith Darling finds Shakespeare’s best-loved works chime with recent political events.
The last few years in politics have gifted the keen observer many allusions to some of Shakespeare’s best-loved works. From the Midsummer Night’s (fever) Dream the electorate might think they are experiencing while looking on at parliament to All’s Well That Ends Well (or is it?).
But more than surface references apply. Shakespeare’s work provides insights into the nature of power and how it is exercised.
Shakespeare lived through politically tumultuous times. His playwriting career spanned the reign of two monarchs, Elizabeth I and James I. The England of his plays was forming itself anew following the Wars of the Roses (c. 1455-1487), which established the Tudor dynasty. They also set in motion the biggest political schism of the age: Henry VIII’s infamous divorce from Catherine of Aragon and break with the Roman Catholic Church.
It is unsurprising, then, that questions of moral authority, the right to rule and the nature of a good leader are recurring themes in Shakespeare’s oeuvre. Recent political events could almost be ripped from the pages of these four plays... Keep reading on The Conversation.
The last few years in politics have gifted the keen observer many allusions to some of Shakespeare’s best-loved works. From the Midsummer Night’s (fever) Dream the electorate might think they are experiencing while looking on at parliament to All’s Well That Ends Well (or is it?).
But more than surface references apply. Shakespeare’s work provides insights into the nature of power and how it is exercised.
Shakespeare lived through politically tumultuous times. His playwriting career spanned the reign of two monarchs, Elizabeth I and James I. The England of his plays was forming itself anew following the Wars of the Roses (c. 1455-1487), which established the Tudor dynasty. They also set in motion the biggest political schism of the age: Henry VIII’s infamous divorce from Catherine of Aragon and break with the Roman Catholic Church.
It is unsurprising, then, that questions of moral authority, the right to rule and the nature of a good leader are recurring themes in Shakespeare’s oeuvre. Recent political events could almost be ripped from the pages of these four plays... Keep reading on The Conversation.