No more yielding than a dream:: The Construction of Shakespeare in The 'Sandman'

Because Shakespeare does not fulfill the stereotype of the tortured genius, creating art out of suffering, there has been a tendency to mythologize his life, despite documentary evidence of its calmness. Neil Gaiman's award winning comic, ne Sandman, links Shakespeare to the protagonist, Dream, the anthropomorphic essence of the unconscious mind. Dream gives Shakespeare the ability to channel "the great stories" so that they will be remembered throughout the age of man. But Shakespeare discovers that this dream separates him from his life, so that only the work is real. In this way he mirrors Dream, who guides the dreams of every living thing, but does not allow himself any. In the final issue, Dream returns to Shakespeare just as the latter finishes The Tempest, a play about a king who gives up his throne, a play written specifically for Dream, who believes he can never leave his island.