Introduction: “With Such Perfection: ” Imagining Utopia through Shakespeare

Abstract

It is a rare thing to think of Shakespeare and his plays without the utopian in mind, if only through a nostalgic idealization of literature, theatre, his stories and characters, or the author himself as the idol we may make of him. The utopian impulse for a better place, a better future or a better self is encapsulated in the comedies, while the tragedies may be regarded as hopeful in this respect as well. Retroactive hope is a recurrent motif and a source of resilience in a number of Shakespeare’s works: after all, to hope for justice, redemption or love against the imperfect, disillusioned reality is a profound act, one that is shared by many Shakespearean characters. It is through hopeful moments of self-reflection and self-forgiveness that they may inspire a striving for a better version of individual and collective selves, while potentially providing us as readers and spectators with the strength to endure hardship and pain. Shakespeare on stage in particular inspires yearnings for a sense of unity and communal belonging created through shared theatrical experience. Utopia is a concept, whose definition, origins and long cultural history have been given much critical thought (Claeys; Eagleton; Gottlieb; Jameson). The word itself is based on the ambiguity inscribed in the pun contained within its form since the time Thomas More used it in his seminal work Utopia (1516): “u-” “topos” means a non-place, while the alternative spelling is “eu-” “topos,” a good place (Sargent 1-37). Thus, utopia is a notion caught up between the impossibility of, and the hope for, a better future: a social design for the