This lecture asks what shapes our ranking of Shakespeare's plays, and whether it matters that the canon we study and stage keeps shrinking
Samuel Pepys thought Romeo and Juliet ‘the worst [play] that ever I heard in my life’. Today it’s studied each year by thousands of students and holds the stage in playhouses across the world. What is it that determines our ranking of Shakespeare’s works, as both individuals and as a nation? What happens when the circle of popularity shrinks to encompass a mere handful of plays, studied by all at school and regularly enjoyed at the theatre? And does the incredible shrinking canon matter?
A lecture by Will Tosh
This event is also available to watch live online. To register, visit: Shakespeare and the Shrinking Canon | Gresham College
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Highlights
- 1 hour
- In person
Location
Gresham College
Barnard's Inn Hall
Holborn London EC1N 2HH
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