“Do not call them bastards”: Shakespeare as an invasive species

Abstract

This essay assesses two dominant modes of understanding William Shakespeare’s effect on world cultures. Those two modes are anchored on the ideas of tradition and commerce. Each offers valuable insight but also carries with it inherent limitations. This essay borrows from recent interdisciplinary work on ecosystems to offer a third way of approaching the life of Shakespeare’s work in the centuries after his death. We suggest that this third mode, which can be called “naturecultural”, offers fresh ethical perspectives on Shakespeare’s life in contemporary culture. This article is published as part of a collection to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.