Everything and Nothing - Hugo and Shakespeare

Abstract

This article re-evaluates Hugo’s relationship with Shakespeare, by analysing his literary criticism, in particular William Shakespeare (1864), which offers us a vivid portrayal of the ways in which Hugo both negotiated relationships with his literary ancestors. I approach Hugo’s work from an existential standpoint, underpinned primarily by the thinking of Ronald Laing, Jan Kott and Eugène Ionesco. In doing so I argue that the way in which Hugo inscribes his own experiences into his analysis of Shakespearean characters uncovers far more than has been acknowledged to date about his own ontological insecurities, and in particular his fear of non-being.