Friday, 23 September 2016

On the Edge of Madness: Shakespeare and Cervantes

Venue: Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre, Arts West

Presenters: Dr Arnold Zable, Professor Luis Salvador-Carulla, Luke Stegemann

The University of Melbourne and the Instituto Cervantes, in commemoration of the 400 year anniversary of the deaths of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, present the Seminar:

On the Edge of Madness: Shakespeare and Cervantes

What does it mean to be 'mad'? This word has fallen out of use as society has embraced inclusive ways of understanding and supporting people who live with mental illness. Yet, the literary allusions to madness are still alive, just as they were 400 years ago when Cervantes and Shakespeare let madness play a central role in their masterworks.

How did each of these early seventeenth century writers portray madness, and how were these representations a reflection, not only of their societies, but of how mental illness was understood more broadly? How do we understand and interpret figures such as Don Quixote, Lady Macbeth or King Lear today, and how have our understandings of the human condition changed over the centuries? How much did these iconic figures borrow from reality and how much from imagination?

Join internationally recognised mental health expert, Professor Luis Salvador-Carulla, acclaimed novelist and storyteller, Arnold Zable, and Hispanist and writer, Luke Stegemann, in a discussion about Cervantes, Shakespeare and the changing nature of madness and its manifestations in literature.



from
https://events.unimelb.edu.au/events/7583-on-the-edge-of-madness-shakespeare-and-cervantes

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