Can life be both wonderful and terrible at the same time?
Prof. Shannon MurrayThe modern world is increasingly polarised; we see things in black and white. How can Shakespeare teach us to hold two conflicting ideas in our heads simultaneously?
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Shakespeare’s work transcends the era in which it was written. What lessons can we learn from The Bard to navigate the polarised world we live in today?
Shakespeare continually challenged us to hold two conflicting ideas about people and situations in our head at the same time without resolving them. It’s an idea that recurs again and again throughout his most famous works.
In this fascinating talk, Dr. Shannon Murray joins The Garden to explain how through Shakespeare we can understand that life can be both wonderful and terrible at the same time, and why this idea is key to navigating our increasingly polarised, black and white world and living happier lives.
Read this talk's transcriptTalk outline
50 minutes
30 minute talk
20 minute Member Q&A
Dr Shannon Murray is a professor of early modern and children’s literature at the University of Prince Edward Island. Alongside Dr Dickson and Dr Riddell, she is completing a book for the University of Toronto Press on Shakespeare, Hope, and Empathy.
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