Jessica C. Murphy, assistant professor of literary studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, will give a lecture, “Jesting at Scars: Comedy in Shakespeare,” at  7 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, in Ross Hall 123.

A part of the William G. Cooper, Jr., Honors Program in English lecture series, the event is free and open to the public.

Murphy’s research interests include English Renaissance literature, gender studies, early modern women’s writing, and digital humanities.

“In this talk, I will look at a few comedies, a bit of tragedy, a bit of history, and some of his sonnets to tease out the ways he uses humor in his work,” said Murphy. “With some attention to comedy as a narrative structure, I will also talk about what is not so funny in these plays.”

“I teach a course about how Shakespeare used comedy for different reasons throughout the different genres in which he works. The course grew out of my frustration with my first encounters with Shakespeare in classrooms where laughing was not allowed. How could we laugh at this high and lofty writer?”

For more information about Murphy’s lecture, contact Dr. Kris McAbee, assistant professor of English at kxmcabee@ualr.edu.