Self-fashioning as mythmaking in 1 Henry IV, the Winter's Tale, and MacBeth
LE3 .A278 2020
2020
Slights, Jessica
Acadia University
Bachelor of Arts
Honours
English
English & Theatre Studies
This thesis explores the processes through which characters’ identities are constructed in William Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, The Winter’s Tale, and Macbeth. I extend Stephen Greenblatt’s Renaissance Self-Fashioning by asserting that individuals fashion themselves for the purpose of exerting power over thos e around them. I also argue that the frequent allusion to classical myth in these plays urges us to understand the creation of identity as a process of mythmaking. This thesis contends with specific allusions toclassical myths, the ways in which Shakespearean characters define themselves, and the systems of power that operate within their respective plays in order to construct a clear argument about the nature of self-fashioning.
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3384
