Shakespeare's Beasts
1,455 views · Published 19 November 2013 · 1:06:04 · Indexed 28 September 2026
Channel: Chicago Humanities · 2013 · Nonprofits & Activism
William Shakespeare wrote of lions, shrews, horned toads, curs, mastiffs, and hellhounds. But the word "animal" itself appears very rarely in his work. In her 2013 book "The Accommodated Animal," Northwestern University professor Laurie Shannon explores why. Shakespeare's plays were steeped in a classical scientific tradition and anchored in a reading of Genesis that placed animals alongside humans in a larger vision of belonging. The rise of a different view, expressed in the Cartesian motto, "I think, therefore I am," altered this older understanding. Animals were reimagined as being more like machines than "fellow creatures." Guiding us through Shakespeare's menagerie, Shannon provides a glimpse into the long history of how we talk about animals.
More from this channel
-
3:18
Lawrence Weschler on Laughter (1 of 4)
-
2:51
Lawrence Weschler on Laughter (2 of 4)
-
2:51
Lawrence Weschler on Laughter (3 of 4)
-
2:51
Lawrence Weschler on Laughter (4 of 4)
-
53:46
Paul Provenza: Crossing the Line
-
39:13
Opera and Laughter
-
4:44
Teatro di Piazza d'Occasione: Farfalle (Butterflies)
-
34:58
Lucky Plush Productions: Endplay (2009)