'He's dead but he won't lie down!' Posthumous characterisation: the symbiosis of ghost and man, of spirit and flesh

Abstract

In the case of some Shakespearian characters (e.g.Richard II and Julius Caesar) their postmortal presence influences our reading of their characters when they were alive. The past being is morally nourished by his postmortality. Of course, Shakespeare himself is magnified by his postmortal reputation