Abstract
This chapter examines the re-contextualisation of Shakespeare in three major festival celebrations of British culture: the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Festival of Britain 1951, and the London Olympics of 2012. In all three we find Shakespeare repositioned in relation to the disciplines of engineering, design and technology. Three case studies explore how Shakespeare is simultaneously celebrated as a cornerstone of British culture, and brought into intimate relation with the scientific and technological priories of the festivals. These re-contextualizations also bring Shakespeare into connection with some key themes of contemporary Shakespeare studies, including internationalism and popular participation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Celebrating Shakespeare: commemoration and cultural memory |
| Editors | Clara Calvo, Coppelia Kahn |
| Place of Publication | Cambridge |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Pages | 114-139 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-107-04277-3 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2015 |