Shakespeare and the Language of Possibility (Free Lecture, April 16 evening)

Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture

Lynne Magnusson: Shakespeare and the Language of Possibility
Thursday, April 16, 2015, 7:30 p.m. at Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.
In this free lecture, Professor Lynne Magnusson of the University of Toronto will explore how Shakespeare’s language challenged, edited, and reframed early modern conceptions of speech. This is a lecture about how a set of small words—may, can, will, would, ought, must, shall, should—is used creatively in Shakespeare’s plays to ground situations in potentiality. Focusing especially on “shall” and “may” in Julius Caesar, this talk explores how Shakespeare grounds his plots in imagined and contested futures. Brutus reflects that Julius Caesar “would be crowned. / How that might change his nature.” Deliberating his course of action, Brutus is driven by what “Caesar may. / Then lest he may, prevent.” Professor Magnusson will explain how these common auxiliary verbs play key roles in dramatic dialogue and in the complex mental deliberation of individual characters.
http://www.folger.edu/shakespeares-birthday (Event is free but pre-registration is asked)