shakespeare400

Shakespeare + Canada

A digital resource exploring Canada's two-hundred year relationship with the most performed and translated playwright in the world.

Our Financial Bon Vivant

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     Here, we have John A. Macdonald once again displayed making political decisions in his own interests. The Canadian treasury held a large surplus, and it was allocated towards the railways Macdonald hoped to construct for Canada, rather than relieving Canada of its debts, which are here represented as Sir Leonard’s inflamed foot. The caption references Shakespeare’s Othello. In the protagonist's final speech, he asks his friends to remember him as someone who loved not wisely, but too well. Ultimately, Othello’s jealousies led to the destruction of his marriage and the taking of his own life. Bengough’s reference to Othello’s final moments suggests that Macdonald’s unwise choices will lead to his, and perhaps Canada’s, downfall.

Corruption
Our Financial Bon Vivant