Waterloo Shakespeare

“Lecturing in the Waterloo Road upon Shakespeare” (85).

Shakespeare has an influential role throughout this novel. Several of his works appear many times at various points in the novel. His play Cymbeline appears near the beginning of the novel and tries to open Clarissa to the idea of death, which she is dreading. Septimus is also drawn to a woman who lectures Shakespeare, who influences him to try his hand at poetry. During the time that Mrs. Dalloway takes place, the sharing and expression of thoughts, emotions, and feelings was unadvised and Shakespeare was not approved of, but Woolf disagreed and included Shakespeare anyway.