“A casebook on mankind”: Faulkner’s use of Shakespeare

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss Faulkner’s use of Shakespeare. To do so, it analyses three representative examples of that usage. These examples may be grouped according to the following categories: 1) specific Faulkner allusions to Shakespeare's plays and characters; 2) a common interest in historical analogies; and 3) an emphasis on the theme of the immortality of art. The text deals with several works from each author as a way to clarify these three modes of intertextuality between them. It leads to a comprehension of the specific allusions as more complex than a simple literary mention; it argues that the appropriation of historical materials by both writers aligns with an accurate critique of their immediate historical context; and, that the recurrence of the immortality of art as one main theme goes beyond an artistic endeavor, appearing as an inner ambition of their work.