ABSTRACT
It seems that virtually every formal civic and organizational occasion in which a speech is called for will find the Bard brought out, dressed in borrowed robes, and invoked to add gravitas to an otherwise mundane and pointless speech. This chapter explores the ground between frivolous usages of the words of Shakespeare because they have the ring of ‘truthiness’ and legitimate appropriation of the philosophical ‘Truths’ explored in the works of Shakespeare and given profound expression in his art. Are there situations in which the words of Shakespeare cannot be legitimately utilized? Are there limits to the meanings which can be imposed or exegeted from a work of fiction?
This chapter examines ways in which Shakespeare is used and abused; in ‘banal’ ways absent any attempt to situate a quote in the text of the play from which it is lifted, or as perceived as a ‘closed’ work without meaningful application in contemporary society. Umberto Eco’s concept of the ‘open work’ is suggested as a criterion for seeking to find shared meanings between the world of Shakespeare’s plays and characters and contemporary situations in which the truths expounded by Shakespeare might find resonance. Eco calls this ‘negotiation’. This paper offers Eco’s concept of negotiation as a working guide for dynamic yet respectful invocation of the words of this great poet. Perhaps armed with a guiding principle, one will be able to quote Shakespeare with confidence that one will not regret that ‘I am sorry that with better heed and judgment I had not quoted him.’ (Hamlet, II, 1 1070).
