How might queer moments in Ovid be in conversation with Shakespeare? This essay pairs three queer Ovidian characters-- Tiresias, Caenis/Caenus, and Iphis-- with three Shakespearean characters-- Mardian the eunuch from Antony and Cleopatra, Portia/Balthazar from Merchant of Venice, and Viola/Cesario from Twelfth Night. Functioning more as rhizomatic associations than direct adaptations, these pairings show that Shakespeare uses Ovidian strategies in positioning his eunuch and crossdressing characters as code switchers who are especially poised to make crucial judgements and give critical insights. Through the juxtapositions of textual queerness, I find that Shakespeare, in the tradition of and seemingly in conversation with, Ovid staged nonbinary characters as queer gender informants whose insights and experiences add value to the plays.
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