Shakespeare's Epitaphs - Shakespeare Lecture

About

As part of the South West Shakespeare festival, Lightbear Lane is delighted to welcome Shakespeare scholar Dr Hanna Smyth for a lecture to explore how Shakespeare's words have shaped commemoration.

How have the words of William Shakespeare shaped how people commemorated the dead, during the past 300 years? Shakespeare was among the first non-religious authors in English whose works were appropriated for use in funerary contexts. Since the mid-1700s, when quotations from plays including Hamlet, Macbeth and Cymbeline began to appear on English headstones, Shakespeare has become ever more central to the rituals surrounding commemoration of the dead in Britain, North America, and beyond. Frequently adapted or imitated, Shakespeare's works are a remarkably flexible resource for acts of commemoration.

This lecture will take you on a journey of exploration to find out why his words have come to be so meaningful to so many in death and remembrance contexts. Drawing on examples from around the world, the talk will highlight ethe wide range of cultural and personal values that can be expressed by quoting his work in epitaphs.

Doors at 1:30pm to grab a drink at the bar and explore the Memory and Mortality exhibition curated by Dr Sarah Spencer in collaboration with the University of Exeter's Shakespearean Graves project.

Dr Hanna Smyth is the postdoctoral researcher and public engagement lead on the University of Exeter's Shakespearean Graves project. After completing her PhD in Global & Imperial History in 2019, researching First World War commemoration of British imperial dead, she spent seven years working as a public engagement coordinator for various University of Oxford departments, helping researchers share what they do with the public in mutually beneficial and accessible ways.