Bennett, SusanMcNeil, Timothy Graham2020-10-012020-10-012020-09-24McNeil, T. G. (2020). The Idea of Consent in Shakespeare (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/112658If consent is one person agreeing together with another person permitting a specific action, what elements within Shakespeare’s plays Richard III, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night specifically comprise the consent that characters like Richard, Hamlet, and Viola obtain that allow them to engage in actions that transform the normative order? This thesis explores the idea of consent in Shakespeare through these early plays, considering how consent is comprised in a history, a tragedy, and a comedy. Drawing on the concepts outlined in John Kleinig’s “The Ethics of Consent,” this thesis considers how (A) might grant consent to (B) to do (ɸ) (5), and the effects of consent on the normative order in which each character operates, locating the conception of consent as a crucial element. I place these readings in contrast to Stephen Greenblatt’s conception of Shakespeare’s dramatization of an absolutist state and Christopher Fitter’s more radical conception of the same period.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.AgencyConsentShakespearenormative orderTheaterEducation--Language and LiteratureLiterature--Englishmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/38317