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Shakespeare’s creativity a lesson to surviving pandemic, Chief Justice says

There are lessons to be found in Macbeth, King Lear and even the tragic end of Romeo and Juliet to bring comfort to the profession’s newest lawyers during the global crisis.

user iconNaomi Neilson 14 September 2020 Big Law
Shakespeare’s creativity a lesson to surviving pandemic
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Between quips about Greta Thunberg, The Bachelor (“whatever that is”) and Game of Thrones, the Honourable Chief Justice Helen Murrell SC advised the ACT’s new group of lawyers to learn resilience from William Shakespeare who “lived his entire life in the shadow of the bubonic plague” but created some of his greatest plays. 

Addressing the new lawyers via video link, CJ Murrell said: “The human race has had to survive many previous pandemics. In some respects, the pandemics have inspired creativity and created opportunities. We have seen that during the present pandemic. 

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“Because of [a] plague, London playhouses were shut for more than 60 per cent of the decade from 1603 to 1613. Yet during this time, Shakespeare’s creativity flourished – he wrote some of the greatest plays, including Macbeth, King Lear and Othello,” CJ Murrell said.

CJ Murrell went on to explain that the state-enforced quarantine is a central plot device for Romeo and Juliet where, for fear of contagion, friars were prevented from warning Romeo about the fake death and “as we all know, things end badly”. 

“I hope that a tragedy flowing from a missed communication would not occur in today’s world of instant communication but considering the overload of remote communication that we are receiving during the pandemic and the number of times that we are ‘left on read’, it’s hard to be sure,” CJ Murrell quipped during the admissions ceremony. 

CJ Murrell said that the human race has adapted quickly to the changes wrought by a suite of adversity in the face of world wars, technology and climate change (she added that she would rather “reserve my judgement” on the latter) and it’s with the creativity of past experiences that the legal profession can continue to thrive. 

“Your experiences in adapting to change is a strength that you can draw upon. Nurture your creative selves. Look outward and nurture those around you,” CJ Murrell said. 

“Remember the words of Shakespeare’s most admired lawyer, Portia in The Merchant of Venice: How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”

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