One Day University

How can we grasp William Shakespeare – the most powerful and elusive genius in Western Culture? What revelations lurk in his biography, in the conflicts of Elizabethan society, the glories of Renaissance high culture, and the long history of tragic art — including some astonishing plays by his contemporaries? Professor Watson excavates the deep human roots that have kept Shakespearean drama perpetually alive and important. As the pressures of globalization and the overloads of the Information Age increase, stories that connect us at a fundamental level are becoming all the more precious, offering the best hope for peace, both personal and political. Without this traditional function of literature, Watson argues, our technologies can only numb and enslave us, and our sacred books can only lead us toward Holy War. Could it be that in 2008, plays like Hamlet and Othello are more relevant and more necessary to understand than ever?