Unconventional Depictions of Sexuality in Shakespeare's Works

Master's Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Duisburg-Essen (Anglophone Studies), language: English, abstract: In this Master's thesis I will analyse unconventional depictions of sexuality in Shakespeare's 'As You Like It', 'Troilus and Cressida' and 'Hamlet' with particular focus on the bard's way of dealing with homosexuality, infidelity and incest. Furthermore, I am going to explore modern responses and reactions to these aspects of these plays. This will allow me to assess the continued relevance today of Shakespeare's depictions of sexuality and to identify similarities and differences between modern attitudes to and depictions of these matters and how they were viewed and depicted in the Elizabethan era. The Master's thesis seeks to answer the following questions: What were conventional and unconventional depictions of sexuality in Shakespeare's time? How and in how far did Shakespeare break with these conventional depictions of sexuality in the exemplary plays and what do we do with these depictions in the turn of the 21st century?