Canon Trouble: Intertextuality and Subversion in Queer as Folk

Abstract

Drawing on gender and queer theory, but also on cultural materialism, this article explores some intertextual references – mainly to Shakespeare and John Keats – at work in the American TV series Queer as Folk. The show recycles canonical works or figures, but considerably reconfigures them. Not only are these references pervaded with overt sexual innuendoes, but they also challenge the literary canon “from within,” regenerate it and invite us to revisit these works – to re-read them against the grain – and to explore their potential queerness.

Keywords

• Queer As Folk
• canon
• intertext
• Shakespeare
• Keats John