[SydPhil] UOW Agora Speaker Series — Julian Lamb (University of Wollongong) — The Take-ative: Romeo and Juliet and the Infelicitous Performative (May 14)

[SOLA Events]

Dear all,


The School of Liberal Arts at the University of Wollongong would like to invite you to the next Agora seminar, to be held on Thursday, May 14. Details are here<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/wYHpCMwGxOtRV1O9xFwf8U85bfT?domain=sola-events.github.io> (and below). All most welcome. Please RSVP<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/wYHpCMwGxOtRV1O9xFwf8U85bfT?domain=sola-events.github.io>.


Julian Lamb

University of Wollongong

‘The Take-ative: Romeo and Juliet and the Infelicitous Performative'

14 May 2026 · 3.30–5pm · 24-203

The University of Wollongong (Keiraville campus)


Abstract

There is a curious moment in the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet. Thinking she speaks in solitude, Juliet says: “Romeo, doff thy name, / And, for thy name, which is no part of thee, / Take all myself.” Emerging from the shadows, Romeo replies: “I take thee at thy word.” Suddenly, Juliet’s utterance has seemingly become binding: because they have been overheard by Romeo, her words have become her word. But is Juliet truly bound by her words given that she did not know they were being overheard? Using J. L. Austin’s notion of the performative, I consider the nature and status of Juliet’s utterance, its influence on the remainder of the scene, and what insight it might afford into the play as a whole.


Bio

Julian Lamb received his PhD from Cambridge University. He has published a monograph on early modern pedagogy, and his articles on Shakespeare, early modern linguistics, and English Renaissance poetry have appeared in journals such as English Literary Renaissance and Shakespeare Quarterly.


Best wishes,

The School of Liberal Arts