From Page to Home Page: Turning Shakespearean Plays into Memes
Submission Type
Event
Faculty Advisor
Joanne Diaz
Expected Graduation Date
2020
Location
Room E102, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Start Date
4-4-2020 10:30 AM
End Date
4-4-2020 10:45 AM
Disciplines
English Language and Literature
Abstract
Shakespeare’s plays have saturated Western culture. His plays and poems were so masterfully crafted that they have moved from the world of entertainment to the world of academic study. But Shakespeare was never an isolated genius; his plays had many sources from ancient and recent history, from myth, and from poets and storytellers who came before him. My goal in this project was to do for Shakespeare what he did for his sources: reshape them, reinvigorate them, and make them accessible for my audience. How do you make Shakespeare accessible in the 21st century? Simple. You make a ton of memes. I have created memes for the Henriad tetralogy: Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and Henry V. These memes include direct quotations from the texts and/or summarization of themes, plot points, and characters—depending on the structure of the meme being created. The formats of the memes vary: some are from the early 2010s, some have gained traction much more recently. I have compiled all of the memes I’ve created on a Tumblr blog, www.shakespearesmemes.tumblr.com, using the hashtag #my post. This project will shed a new light on what we think we know about Shakespeare by bringing him up to date with our current sociocultural climate.
From Page to Home Page: Turning Shakespearean Plays into Memes
Room E102, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Shakespeare’s plays have saturated Western culture. His plays and poems were so masterfully crafted that they have moved from the world of entertainment to the world of academic study. But Shakespeare was never an isolated genius; his plays had many sources from ancient and recent history, from myth, and from poets and storytellers who came before him. My goal in this project was to do for Shakespeare what he did for his sources: reshape them, reinvigorate them, and make them accessible for my audience. How do you make Shakespeare accessible in the 21st century? Simple. You make a ton of memes. I have created memes for the Henriad tetralogy: Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and Henry V. These memes include direct quotations from the texts and/or summarization of themes, plot points, and characters—depending on the structure of the meme being created. The formats of the memes vary: some are from the early 2010s, some have gained traction much more recently. I have compiled all of the memes I’ve created on a Tumblr blog, www.shakespearesmemes.tumblr.com, using the hashtag #my post. This project will shed a new light on what we think we know about Shakespeare by bringing him up to date with our current sociocultural climate.