• Foster titles his sixth chapter, "When in Doubt, It's from Shakespeare." In it he points out how ubiquitous the bard is in our culture. Here is a page with famous Shakespearean quotes:
http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes


http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/quotes/quotes.htm

http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-quotes.htm

Why do people quote or refer to Shakespeare directly and indirectly?
  • writers quote what they've read or heard, and ost have read or heard Shakespeare (42)
  • gives authority to the text
  • makes the author look "smart"
  • adds to the universality of the concept or problem
  • the author may be highlighting changes in time
  • IRONY
  • challenge assumptions

Remember, this is again about intertexuality, or the conversations between texts.

As you read, look for references to Shakespeare and record/ discuss them here.


Title of the work read
Shakespearean allusion or reference
Effect of reference on the meaning of the text--- what is the author trying to say by using Shakespeare? Think intertexuality here.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot
"I am not Prince Hamlet"
Prufrock declares that he is "not Prince Hamlet" in a feeble attempt to convince himself that he is not the kind of man who is indecisive and refuses to take action, yet his thoughts and feelings in the poem suggest otherwise.