Seminar 17: Religion and paganism in Shakespeare’s plays

This seminar seeks papers on Shakespeare’s reactions to the various shades of Protestantism, show the influence of recusant Catholicism and consider the perspective offered by paganism, notably through the numerous myths found in the Shakespearean canon.

Arguably, Shakespeare used alternative narratives of a quasi-religious nature not so much to subvert the established religious rituals of his time (whether Protestant or Catholic) as to enlarge and blend into them. To this end he presents and parodies the odos chameliontos, the chameleon virtuosity of the (magical) theatre.

Topics will discuss the influence of religion on Shakespeare, its links with paganism, and the workings of myth in (dramatic) poetry.

Please send proposals by September 15, 2013 to [->harber.eric@gmail.com]. Proposals must include :

 name, email and affiliation.

 title of paper.

 300-word abstract.