On the morning of May 15, 2026, Prof. Xu Jia, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Foreign Languages, Beijing Institute of Technology, was invited to deliver an academic lecture entitled “ ‘Imagining’ Children: Childhood and Concepts of Growing Up in Shakespeare’s Plays” to faculty members and students of the School of Foreign Studies (SFS) at Nankai University. The lecture was held in Jiye Hall of the School and attracted the participation of faculty members and students from the SFS.
Beginning with the historical context of the rapid increase in the child population in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century England, as well as the emergence of child actors on the stage, Prof. Xu provided an in-depth analysis of the identity issues underlying the growing number of child characters in Shakespeare’s plays. She pointed out that children in Shakespeare’s dramas not only reflect the expectations and demands placed upon children in early modern English society, but also embody the cultural anxieties of the period. For example, child characters were often portrayed as “prototypes of their fathers,” while the recurring motif of precocious talent coupled with an early death was closely associated with contemporary concerns over the short-lived fate of child prodigies.
Prof. Xu further emphasized that early modern England was a critical period in the formation of the concept of “childhood,” and that different understandings of what constituted a child directly influenced the categorization of dramatic characters. She encouraged researchers to avoid measuring children by adult standards or interpreting the past through contemporary perspectives. The lecture also explored topics including the adjustment of the age of Young York in Shakespeare’s plays, the relationship between children’s learning and religious conversion, and the theme of “doing nothing.” Drawing upon William Wordsworth’s famous line, “The Child is father of the Man,” Prof. Xu vividly illustrated the complex interaction between literary texts and their historical contexts. Following the lecture, faculty members and students engaged in lively discussions with Prof. Xu on related topics. The lecture concluded successfully with warm applause.
