Death by Shakespeare

Shakespeare found dozens of different ways to kill off his characters. From serene deaths by snakebite, lack of sleep killing Lady Macbeth and murdering someone by pouring poison in their ear.

Join Kathryn Harkup as she explores how realistic these deaths are, what actual events may have inspired Shakespeare and what the accepted scientific knowledge of the time was.

In this talk, Kathryn discusses how Plague, pestilence and public executions were a common occurrence, and the chances of seeing a dead or dying body on the way home from the theatre was high. It was also a time of important scientific advance.