Shakespeare's French Connection

Shakespeare’s third most frequent setting is France. French is also the foreign language Shakespeare uses most. He also weaves in comments on French fashion, ways of walking, and skills in horsemanship, sword-playing and dancing. This work shows us just how widely that French presence is evident in his plays.

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Margrethe Jolly took her PhD at Brunel University, studying Hamlet alongside its French source and consequently writing The First Two Quartos of 'Hamlet'. That, her passion for the plays and her love of literature teaching tempted her to investigate more, and more, of the French elements in the Shakespeare canon. 'Everyone knows Shakespeare's a genius, but he's also very learned,' she says. 'Do a little digging in those plays and it's amazing how extensive his knowledge is in so many fields.' Her Shakespeare's French Connection explores just one of those fields.