Abstract: This article unfolds a broadly Lacanian reading of Shakespeare’s poem, Venus and Adonis (1593). In this mythological tale of a mortal youth whose relation with a goddess is fatally severed when a boar gores him in the thigh, it finds an allegory of oedipalization: the experience of “castration” which impels the subject into absence, difference, language, adult sexuality, and desire. In its compensatory and redemptive capacity, language offers to fill the gap with words, giving us the whole order of art, all that can be imagined, narrated, and believed (the Imaginary). But insofar as it is based on loss and lack, language testifies to an insatiable desire for meaning it is unable to fulfill (the Symbolic). Here we find Shakespeare, still at an early stage in his writing career, weighing up these two radically different linguistic registers—comic and tragic, respectively—as he contemplated the different modes and potentialities for his craft.

Catherine Bates

American imago

Founded in 1939 by Sigmund Freud and Hanns Sachs, AMERICAN IMAGO is the preeminent scholarly journal of psychoanalysis. Appearing quarterly, AMERICAN IMAGO publishes innovative articles on the history and theory of psychoanalysis as well as on the reciprocal relations between psychoanalysis and the broad range of disciplines that constitute the human sciences. Since 2001, the journal has been edited by Peter L. Rudnytsky, who has made each issue a "special issue" and introduced a topical book review section, with a guest editor for every Fall issue.

Founded in 1939 by Sigmund Freud and Hanns Sachs, American Imago is the leading scholarly journal in the field of psychoanalysis. Published quarterly, American Imago features innovative articles on the history and theory of psychoanalysis, as well as studies on the reciprocal relationships between psychoanalysis and the wide range of disciplines that make up the human sciences. Since 2001, the journal has been edited by Peter L. Rudnytsky, who has designated each issue as a 'special issue' and introduced a topical book review section, with a guest editor for every Fall issue.

《American Imago》创刊于1939年，由西格蒙德·弗洛伊德和汉斯·萨克斯共同创办，是精神分析领域最重要的学术期刊。该期刊每季度出版，发表关于精神分析历史和理论的创新文章，以及精神分析与人文学科广泛领域之间相互关系的研究。自2001年以来，彼得·L·鲁德尼茨基担任主编，他将每期设定为“特刊”，并引入了专题书评部分，每个秋季期刊都有特邀编辑。

Category	Quartile
社会学	4
社会学, 人文科学	3

The Imaginary and the Symbolic in Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis

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