Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)
Publication Date
Fall 2023
College
Music and Performing Arts, College of
Department
Theatre and Dance, Department of
BURS Faculty Advisor
Dr. Carla Lehey
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
William Shakespeare wrote numerous works, diving into the common motifs of love, revenge, power, but most importantly, madness. While Elizabethan audiences were more accustomed to seeing madness as a ploy for comedy, Shakespeare changed the appeal through shows such as King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth. He presents the power and ambition of women, as well as the failings of the upper-class, but he disguised them through the idea of insanity. At a time when the public had little understanding of mental health, it was easy to blame madness on gender, social status, and even the supernatural. Through a dissection of Elizabethan ideas and studies, this paper will analyze the flawed ideas of madness as it relates to gender status in the 16th century and how it is represented in key Shakespearean works.
Recommended Citation
Kobus, Hope L., "I Was Crazy Once: An Examination of Elizabethan Insanity in Shakespeare’s Work" (2023). Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS). 437.
https://repository.belmont.edu/burs/437
Included in
Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, European History Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, History of Gender Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Psychology Commons, Theatre History Commons
