Shakespeare in Diderot: a critic of neoclassical taste

Abstract

The reception of Shakespeare’s plays in France was difficult because of the combined influence of neoclassicism, Voltaire’s writings and the aristocratic concept of “bon goût”. Nevertheless, in this article, after reconstructing the confluence of this three factors, we analyze several works by Denis Diderot, from the Lettre sur les sourds et muets to the Salons, in order to show that the influence of the “Bard of Stratford” is central to his aesthetic thinking. His reformulation of the theatrical logic under a pictorial and pantomimic paradigm, from 1757 onwards, finds a condensed example in a particular moment of a Shakespearean play. That moment becomes an exemplum of how the drama should work when rules and decorum become obstacles in the way to achieve the double objective of delighting and educating the public.