‘A new god will walk’: Shakespeare, the Renaissance, and the birth of the posthuman in Westworld

Abstract

Westworld, a highly acclaimed TV series by HBO, can boast a whole wealth of references to canonical texts, famous works of art and cultural icons. I would argue that the series alludes to numerous Renaissance works in order to address the crises of humanity in the digital age. The aim of this article is to investigate the parallels between the ‘brave new world’ of the early modern period and the postmodern period, both from which the series draws inspiration. I wish to discuss the functions of Shakespearean and other early modern references in the context of a dystopian vision of the fall of man and the emergence of a new race.

Bring yourself back online, Old Bill: Westworld’s media histories, or six degrees of separation from Shakespeare

“…Fans and critics alike have delved into the show's Shakespearean quotations, 10 in total across season one and two, especially the use of 'These violent delights have violent ends' from Romeo and Juliet in the opening episode; as Katarzyna Burzynska notes, 'the line goes viral'. 4 This is the quotation as a 'cut', to use Bruce R. Smith's term, in the sense of it being both an object and a phenomenon; it is cut from Shakespeare but also into the diegesis, so that Westworld functions as a mise-en-abyme of the generic phenomenon of quoted Shakespeare in modern culture. 5 From these quotes, viewers have identified deeper resonances between the show's story arcs and Shakespeare's plays, a line of inquiry that is more persuasive for the first and second seasons -which capitalised on Anthony Hopkins's prior association as a Shakespearean actor -than the third, where the Shakespeare influence recedes.…”