Shakespeare, Bath & the plague – Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution
While there is no definitive historical record confirming that William Shakespeare visited Bath, this talk explores the cultural and symbolic connections between the Bard and the city. Bath, with its Roman heritage and healing waters, served as a metaphorical backdrop for themes of renewal, desire, and transformation—motifs that echo through Shakespeare’s later sonnets.
The focus turns to Sonnets 153 and 154, often referred to as the “Bath Sonnets” due to their imagery of healing baths and love’s fire. These sonnets are mythological in tone, drawing on classical references to Cupid and nymphs.
The talk highlights how these poems may reflect Shakespeare’s philosophical preoccupation with desire, mortality and the limits of reason and explains how these sonnets were nearly forgotten after their 1609 publication, then rediscovered in the 18th century.
Duncan McGibbon, BRLSI Poetry Convenor
