Female Friendship in Shakespeare

Early modern writing about friendship usually idealised relationships between men but paid far less attention to female companionship. Shakespeare breaks with this tradition by staging supportive friendship between women.

Drawing on work from her new edition of the A Midsummer Night's Dream, Professor Gillian Woods will explore the shifts between friends, enemies and lovers in this comedy.

How is this bond depicted in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a play of comically high passions?

What kind of pressure is put on friendship by sexual desire?

What are the demands of friendship and can it cross social hierarchies?

Led by Professor Gillian Woods, Tutorial Fellow in English of Magdalen College, University of Oxford.

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About our Research Conversations
Every month we host a live online talk which provides you with the opportunity to listen to people who are engaged in Shakespeare-related research. The talk begins with a thirty-minute presentation, followed by an open discussion.

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Listen back: If you were unable to attend our previous virtual Research Conversations, want a recap, or completely new to it and want to see what it's all about, you can catch up on our audio recordings .

This event is part of our multi-year programme, celebrating The Women Who Made Shakespeare