Stephen Greenblatt: ‘Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud’

On 1st and 2nd February, 2025, the 2016 Holberg Laureate Stephen Greenblatt was featured at two events at the Jaipur Literature Festival, as part of a collaboration between the Holberg Prize and JLF. The second event gets its title from Greenblatt’s latest book, Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud. In Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud (2024), Stephen Greenblatt and co-author Adam Phillips explore the powerful theme of second chances in life. Drawing on Shakespeare’s plays and Freud’s theories, they examine stories of transformation, renewal, and the enduring hope of redemption. In conversation with Paul Smith, Greenblatt weaves through the tales of Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale, and more, revealing how literature allows us to rehearse and understand the complexities of change, healing and the deep-seated hope for redemption despite fate and circumstance. The event featured Stephen Greenblatt in conversation with Paul Smith.