Lecture: David S. Kastan on Shakespeare's Lucrece

Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Lecture: Dr. David S. Kastan: Print, Plaint, and Painting in Shakespeare's Lucrece

In London in the spring of 1594, a long narrative poem by Shakespeare was published and advertised for sale at John Harrison’s shop in the churchyard of Saint Paul’s. The title page simply called it Lucrece. Now the poem is usually known as The Rape of Lucrece, though it was only in the sixth edition of 1616—the year of Shakespeare's death—that this became the poem’s title. Kastan's lecture will suggest that attending to the difference in title helps us see what is at stake in poem itself, which was one of Shakespeare's most popular works among early readers. Reception to flow.

About David S. Kastan

Dr. David Scott Kastan is the George M. Bodman Emeritus Professor of English at Yale University, having previously taught at Columbia University and at Dartmouth College. Among his books are Shakespeare and the Shapes of Time, Shakespeare after Theory, Shakespeare and the Book, and A Will to Believe: Shakespeare and Religion. He serves as a general editor of the Arden Shakespeare (third series), was the co-editor of the Bantam Shakespeare, and the series editor of the Barnes and Noble Shakespeare. His most recent book was On Color, written with the painter Stephen Farthing, and published in 2018, and he is now working on a book on Shakespeare and Rembrandt for Yale University Press.

Please have your reservation confirmation ready upon entering. A reservation does not guarantee a seat. Line forms upon arrival of the first patron, and doors open 30 minutes in advance. Doors to our theater will open approximately 30 minutes before the event begins. No food or beverages are allowed inside our theater or gallery space.

Host or Publisher Harry Ransom Center