The contributions gathered in this special issue are products of two workshops, organised within the KREAS project (Creativity and Adaptability as Conditions for the Success of Europe in an Interrelated World) at Charles University in Prague, in 2020 and 2021. The wide range of topics is a testament to the power of creativity to inspire reflection, critique and radical reappraisals of works in diverse genres, from fiery theological tracts to canonical plays. As if taking its cue from the great Polish literary critic, Jan Kott, a champion of creative Shakespearean criticism, this issue, focused on Shakespeare and modern uses of his works, traces the manners in which his plays offer a world of such cornucopian fertility that it continues to inspire reflections about our own society and its vulnerabilities, works from across media and centuries, and potent insights into the historical period that engendered it. A hotly contested term, early modernity appears to be an era onto which contemporary anxieties, ideologies and concepts are projected, as can be seen not only from Miguel Ramalhete Gomes?s examination of truth claims and tyranny, but also Matthias Riedl?s cogent analysis of the power of affect shaping the history of this period.