Cervantes, Shakespeare and the turn towards the animal

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the Humanities are no longer regarded as solely the realm of humans as the discipline is expanded and reinterpreted to include nonhumans. Moreover, the rise of literary consciousness about the presence and significance of animals in human culture during the early modern period is enhancing our understanding of characterization, mentalities, literary genres, material culture, philosophical ethics and ecocriticism. Cervantes and Shakespeare both incorporate real and conceptual animals into their works. These animal characters are significant and productive subjects for analyzing the works in which they appear and expanding the contexts within which the authors wrote. To exemplify this «animal turn» in literary studies, this essay examines the hunting episodes in Don Quixote and Love’s Labour’s Lost. I explore the cultural significance of the aristocratic hunt and  the authors’ ideas with respect to contemporary debates regarding this popular sport that had broad philosophical, ethical and socio-political repercussions in both countries.