Shakespearean Afterlifes: Ten Characters with a Life of Their Own

Ben Jonson’s famous observation that Shakespeare was ‘not of an age, but for all time’ has proved to be spectacularly true. From art to advertising, psychology to politics, opera to cinema, Shakespeare’s stories and characters have found an enduring place in our consciousness, enjoying ‘afterlives’ as rich and varied as their original incarnations in the playhouse.

Shakespearean Afterlives is a cultural biography of Shakespeare’s most famous characters. From Shylock to the Shrew, Richard the Third to Romeo, it charts the many and various existences that these characters have led outside the pages of the First Folio.

Each chapter offers an original perspective on a well-known character, examining their role in the play, their history in performance and their intriguingly kaleidoscopic life in the popular consciousness. Episodes from the character’s performance history show how audience perceptions have changed through the centuries; and a broader perspective reveals the new and often unlikely afterlives that the character has enjoyed in a wide variety of cultural fields.

Featuring interviews with experienced actors and directors, this book is for ‘the great Variety of Readers’ who enjoy their Shakespeare and are intrigued by the seemingly endless capacity of his characters for re-invention and reincarnation.