Shakespeare & Early Modern Proverbial Culture

Monday 11th May: Workshop 3 ‘Proverbial Communities’ 

1-5pm, Alumni Room, School of English, University of Leeds

The workshop is designed to raise questions, provoke discussion, and share perspectives on the place and value of proverbs for modern-day communities, and to explore the challenges and opportunities of proverbs and proverbial language in Shakespeare and his early modern contemporaries for audiences, students and readers today. 

The workshop will be organised around a series of discussion points. There will not be formal paper presentations, but instead we welcome a position statement and/or a sharing of experience from participants in relation to the workshop themes. 

Topics that may be discussed in the workshop include, but are not limited to:  

• Local proverbs, regionalisms and folklorists, geographical dimensions, time and memory 
• Public interest and value of proverbs, and their relationship with literature and with culture 
• Pedagogy and engagement in schools and study: framing Shakespeare through proverbial language 
• Creativity and creative practice in using proverbial language: Shakespeare’s creativity, and creativity in professional and educational spaces 

As part of the day, we will have some practice-focussed activities and workshops with our theatre and education practitioner, Rowena English.