OCCULTISM, MONSTERS, DISMEMBERMENT, CANNIBALISM—these are some of the spectacles that earned Shakespeare star power in his time and continue to secure his cultural authority and commercial worth today. This two-session course will explore Shakespeare’s ongoing relationship to “horror.” In it we will begin with a broad overview of Elizabethan contexts (revenge tragedies, demonological discourse, monster shows); move to a discussion of Shakespeare’s unusual place among 19th-century freak shows; and end by examining 20th- and 21st century “horror” films adapted from or inspired by Shakespeare’s most horrific mindbenders and gore-fests.
J. Shea teaches in the Department of English at Dawson College in Montreal. Years before becoming a Shakespearean and receiving a PhD in English from McGill University, J. was weaned on low-budget horror films broadcast on local Chicago television.
