What didn’t Nolan understand about Homer? How Shakespeare's England laughed at the Trojan War
Christopher Nolan's acclaimed film adaptation of The Odyssey proved once again the relevance of Homeric epics. But for the people of 16th and 17th century England, the myth of the Trojan War had a very special meaning: thanks to the medieval legend that London was founded by the great grandson of a Trojan War hero, everyone from the monarch to the shoemaker felt a connection to this ancient city. In this lecture, we'll talk about how one of the foundational wars of European literature became a subject for laughter. We will learn how Achilles pawned his boots to Odysseus, how Zeus lounged in a tavern on the banks of the Thames, how Penelope dropped in on a ball at Elizabeth's court, and how a London butcher tried to save Hector from an ignominious death. Why do both the Greeks and Trojans in William Shakespeare's plays constantly banter with each other? Come back for the answers!
Lecturer: Eugenia Ganberg - PhD in English Literature at Cambridge, Oxford lecturer.
*Lecture will be in Russian
Arc Space London • Tottenham Mews 13, W1T 4AQ London, England, United Kingdom
