Abstract
This article considers Shakespeare's metaphors of transmission, contagion, and infection in the light of period plague tracts, medical treatises and plague time literature. It demonstrates how period conceptions of disease are predicated upon a notion of sympathetic transference and, consequently, how kindness, likeness and communication between characters in Shakespearean drama are complicated and fraught with period specific anxiety. This article situates Shakespearean literary texts within a precise historical and medical moment, considering how scientific conceptions contaminate dramatic text.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 103-109 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Medical Humanities |
| Volume | 37 |
| Early online date | 2 Sept 2011 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- Shakespeare
- Plague
- Contagion
- Othello
- Transmission
- Friendship
- Paracelsus