(S) “…and I will kill thee – And love thee after” – Love, Power and Madness in Shakespeare

Whether we take a look at Desdemona, Lady Macbeth, or Tamora, Queen of the Goths, Shakespeare’s tragedies abound with powerful women who take their fate into their own hands. Additionally, we have female characters such as Ophelia, Emilia, Bianca or Lavinia, who adopt different strategies to survive —more or less—in a ‘men’s world.’ In this seminar, we will focus on the link between gender and power in four of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies to show that even more than 400 years after his death, these plays are just as relevant as ever, if not more so. We also include film versions to get a better understanding of how these plays function, not just as written text but when actually performed on stage. This material will not only be analyzed from a gender studies perspective, but also with regard to the specific motifs and themes relevant to each text/film: i.e. the supernatural, witchcraft, the subversion of the nature/culture divide and the transgression of binary oppositions in Macbeth; the question of identity and the literary tradition of revenge and madness in Hamlet and in Titus Andronicus; and the notions of power, colonialism and sadism in Othello. Moreover, this seminar will include a comprehensive introductory overview of Shakespeare’s tragedies and their historical background, as well as an introduction to the theory of tragedy.

NOTE: This seminar is designed as a compact seminar. The first sessions will take place in week one and three, but the seminar itself will take place on a weekend (Saturday and Sunday) in late January 2026.