Shakespeare and War: a reflection on instances of dramatic production, appropriation, and celebration

Abstract

This article draws on a range of literary, theatre, and printed news sources in order to explore the portrayal of Shakespeare and some of his plays in relation to war. This exploration is timely, given the anniversary of the playwright’s birth and of the start of the First World War. Particular attention is given to the society of Elizabethan England, to nineteenth and twentieth century theatre and film productions of Henry V, and other events during the early years of the 1914-1918 war, revealing the many diverse ways in which the man and his work has been appropriated.

Keywords

• Shakespeare
• war
• theatre, Henry V