DOCSLIB.ORG

Hamlet, the Ghost and the Model Reader

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Hamlet, the Ghost and the Model Reader HAMLET, THE GHOST AND THE MODEL READER THE PROBLEMS OF THE RECEPTION AND A CONCEPT OF SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET Doctoral dissertation by András G. Bernáth Supervisor: Prof. Guido Latré, PhD Université Catholique de Louvain 2013 ABSTRACT In a comprehensive study of Hamlet and its reception, this dissertation offers a concept and interpretation of Shakespeare’s work as a complex literary work and play for the theatre. It is argued that the play, through a series of ambiguities, implies two main levels of meaning, which complement each other in a truly dramatic contrast, exploring the main theme of Hamlet and dramatic art in general: seeming and being, or illusion and reality. On the surface, which has been usually maintained since the Restoration, Hamlet seems to be a moral hero, who “sets it right” by punishing the evil villain, the usurper King Claudius, following the miraculous return of the murdered King Hamlet from the dead. At a deeper level, exploring the Christian context including King James’s Daemonologie (1597), the Ghost demanding revenge is, in fact, a disguised devil, exploiting the tragic flaw of the protagonist, who wishes the damnation of his enemy. Fortinbras, who comes from the north like King James and renounces revenge, is rewarded with the kingdom after the avengers, Hamlet and Laertes, kill each other and virtually the entire Danish court is wiped out through Hamlet’s quest of total revenge, pursuing both body and soul. The aesthetic identity of Hamlet is also examined. In addition to the mainly philological and historical analysis of the text, the play, some adaptations and the critical reception, theoretical concerns are also included. Epistemology and semiotics, in particular Kuhn’s notion of paradigm and Eco’s notion of the Model Reader, are applied to enhance the understanding of the two levels of meaning of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as well as the problems of the reception. The main purpose is to restore and explain Shakespeare’s work, so that it can be fully appreciated, again in its original complexity. CONTENTS 1.3 Introduction 1 1.4 1 The purpose of playing and other issues 11 1.5 1.1 The purpose of playing in Hamlet 11 1.6 1.2 The difficulties of interpretation 18 1.7 1.3 Hamlet, the Ghost, and religion 24 1.8 1.4 Hamlet’s delay and some further issues 28 1.9 2 Some problems of criticism, or Hamlet as a problem play 40 1.10 2.1 Early criticism: Moral hero? 40 1.11 2.1.1 Hanmer’s critique of Hamlet’s character 41 1.12 2.1.2 Johnson’s critique and the notion of poetical justice 44 1.13 2.1.3 Fielding on Garrick’s performance and its reception 48 1.14 2.2 The Romantic concept of Hamlet 51 1.15 2.2.1 Hazlitt on Hamlet’s moral perfection 51 1.16 2.2.2 Coleridge on Shakespeare’s intentions 56 1.17 2.2.3 Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister on Hamlet’s soul 59 1.18 2.2.4 A dissident voice: Steevens’ critique of Shakespeare 61 1.19 2.3. Hamlet as a problem play 64 1.20 2.3.1 The notion of “problem play” 64 1.21 2.3.2 Tillyard on the problems of Hamlet 65 1.22 2.4 Recent criticism: Hamlet? In Purgatory? 72 1.23 2.4.1 Hamlet as the most problematic play ever written 72 1.24 2.4.2 Greenblatt’s new historicist account of religion and the Ghost 75 1.25 2.4.3 Some other recent responses to these problems 92 3 What’s in a name? The text and the designation of the characters 96 3.1 The original texts and the designation of the Ghost 96 3.1.1 The significance of the original texts and their designation 96 3.1.2 The beginning of Shakespeare’s text: Names and themes 99 3.1.3 Enter Ghost 102 3.2 The meanings of “ghost” and the modern editions 105 3.2.1 The Oxford English Dictionary and some major critical editions 105 3.3.2 The Arden Hamlet and its annotations (2006) 111 3.2.3 Another meaning of “ghost” in the OED, and some further editions 118 3.3 Hamlet’s “addition” and the parallel of Macbeth 125 4 The aesthetic identity of Hamlet: Some issues and productions 132 4.1 Aesthetic identity, translation, and the loss of the text 132 4.1.1 The notion of “aesthetic identity”, and its relationship to translation 135 4.1.2 The possible advantages of translation: an example 140 4.1.3 Some questions on texts, adaptations, and the internet 142 4.2 Hamlet as a play for the theatre 148 4.2.1 Davenant’s Restoration Hamlet 148 4.2.2 Garrick’s Hamlet (1772) 156 4.2.3 The Royal National Theatre’s Hamlet (2000) 161 4.2.4 Hamlet returns to the Globe (2000) 169 4.2.5 Another Hamlet at the Globe and on tour (2011-12) 172 4.3 Hamlet as an opera 184 4.3.1 The significance of the opera and film adaptations 184 4.3.2 The French Hamlet opera (1868) 185 4.3.3 The MET Hamlet production (2010) 188 4.4 Hamlet as a film 192 4.4.1 Olivier’s Hamlet (1948) 193 4.4.2 Zeffirelli’s Hamlet (1990) 199 4.4.3 Branagh’s Hamlet (1996) 204 5 Hamlet in its historical context: Aspects of a complex play 213 5.1 Hamlet and his task 213 5.1.1 The role of history and historicist criticism 213 5.1.2 A complex era and task, with parallel characters 217 5.1.3 Succession, revenge and rebellion in contemporary Britain and Denmark 233 5.1.4 The Essex rebellion and the theatre 237 5.1.5 James, the King from the north 240 5.2 Spirituality, demonology and the Ghost 249 5.2.1 The character of the Ghost in Elizabethan ghost lore 249 5.2.2 The Ghost in the dramatic structure 262 5.3 Hamlet and the Ghost: The tragic flaw of the protagonist 272 5.4 The conclusion: Hamlet’s fall and the rise of Fortinbras 296 6 Hamlet in the light of theory: Two levels of meaning 302 6.1 Two concepts of Hamlet and the notion of paradigm 302 6.1.1 The significance of theory in the reception of Hamlet 302 6.1.2 Two opposing readings and the notion of paradigm 305 6.2 The limits of interpretation and the Model Reader 316 6.2.1 The notion of the Model Reader 321 6.2.2 Two levels of interpretation 322 6.2.3 Interpreting drama, or Hamlet in the theatre 327 Epilogue 335 Bibliography 341 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the result of many years of research and studies at several universities and institutions in several countries. If Hamlet is a delaying avenger, I have also delayed the completion of my task for rather a long time, which can only partly be explained by the scope and the complexity of the topic, or the novelty of my approach. Therefore, I should apologise for the delay before expressing my thanks to all those who have helped me along the way. I wish to express my thank to Professor Guido Latré, my supervisor both at the Université Catholique de Louvain at Louvain-la-Neuve and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, for his generous supervision, the inspiring lectures and discussions on Shakespeare and related issues, and for his expertise on the contemporary religious texts and contexts concerning the English Reformation. I am also grateful for his patience with my work. I am indebted to Professor Agnès Guiderdoni and Ms. Valérie Martin for the opportunity to follow my supervisor from Leuven to Lovain-la-Neuve and present my doctorate there. My research in Belgium was made possible by a three-year doctoral scholarship from the Soros Foundation and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, for which I would like to express my thanks. I am grateful to Professor Béla Somfai, SJ, and the late Professor István Muzslay, SJ, for their expert advice on moral theology, as well as for their encouragement. I also thank Professor Ortwin de Graef for his seminars and expertise on literary theory. I warmly thank dr. Gergely Juhász, dr. Paul Arblaster and all other scholars for their help and encouragement in Leuven. The Collegium Hungaricum in Leuven was very inspiring for study and research alike. Among the numerous events there, a meeting with Otto von Habsburg was particularly memorable. Dr. Habsburg earned his doctorate at the Catholic University of Leuven or Louvain, well before the university’s split into two on linguistic grounds. He, like Hamlet, was a Prince who never became king: as the last Crown-Prince of Austria-Hungary, he witnessed the fall and disintegration of the Habsburg Empire, two world wars, the Cold War and the reunification of Europe; as the President of the International Paneuropean Union, he devoted his life to European integration and played a major role in the fall of the Iron Curtain. I would like to thank Professor György E. Szőnyi, my former supervisor at the University of Szeged, Hungary, for his inspiring lectures, seminars, advice and encouragement at earlier stages of my studies and research concerning my MA thesis entitled “Hamlet, Victim of the Evil Ghost”, on which this dissertation is based. I am grateful to dr. Attila Kiss, whose courses on Shakespeare, English literature and literary theory were equally inspirational; I owe much to his expertise in semiotics and particularly on the notion of the Vice; my reading of Hamlet is very much indebted to his.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Chef by Sabrina Mahfouz
    j Chef by Sabrina Mahfouz Underbelly Cowgate – Big Belly, 56 Cowgate, Edinburgh, EH1 1EG Thursday 31st July – Sunday 17th August 2014, 6.10pm Chef tells the gripping story of how one woman went from being a haute-cuisine head-chef to a convicted inmate running a prison kitchen. Sabrina Mahfouz's distinct award-winning lyrical style and Jade Anouka's mesmerising performance make this an extraordinary, must-see, new show. Leading us through her world of mouth-watering dishes and heart-breaking memories, Chef questions our attitudes to food, prisoners, violence, love and hope. Inspired by an interview Mahfouz conducted with Ollie Dabbous, Chef studies food as the ultimate art form taking stimulus from Dabbous’ obsession with simplicity and making something the best it can be. As the Michelin-star chef of the moment says, ‘language is a bit like a dish, you break it down into little parts and it suddenly becomes easier’. Chef is an explosively engaging character, leading us through her triumphs and tragedies with words as sharp as her knife: ‘The night is packed away into a black bin bag, tagged with a let's not talk of that again, tomorrow will be better and maybe we should just get pizza’. Directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward and produced by POP, Chef has been made possible through a Sky Academy Arts Scholarship. ‘a blistering way with language…this is how theatre can take you anywhere in your imagination’ ***** The Herald on Clean POP are also co-presenting John Berkavitch’s Shame. In this explosive work of spoken-word hiphop-theatre Berkavitch is joined by some of the country’s most innovative break-dancers as he explores the feeling of shame through a combination of narrative spoken-word, hip-hop, contemporary dance, illustration, animation and music.
    [Show full text]
  • View in Order to Answer Fortinbras’S Questions
    SHAKESPEAREAN VARIATIONS: A CASE STUDY OF HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK Steven Barrie A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2009 Committee: Dr. Stephannie S. Gearhart, Advisor Dr. Kimberly Coates ii ABSTRACT Dr. Stephannie S. Gearhart, Advisor In this thesis, I examine six adaptations of the narrative known primarily through William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark to answer how so many versions of the same story can successfully exist at the same time. I use a homology proposed by Gary Bortolotti and Linda Hutcheon that explains there is a similar process behind cultural and biological adaptation. Drawing from the connection between literary adaptations and evolution developed by Bortolotti and Hutcheon, I argue there is also a connection between variation among literary adaptations of the same story and variation among species of the same organism. I determine that multiple adaptations of the same story can productively coexist during the same cultural moment if they vary enough to lessen the competition between them for an audience. iii For Pam. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Stephannie Gearhart, for being a patient listener when I came to her with hints of ideas for my thesis and, especially, for staying with me when I didn’t use half of them. Her guidance and advice have been absolutely essential to this project. I would also like to thank Kim Coates for her helpful feedback. She has made me much more aware of the clarity of my sentences than I ever thought possible.
    [Show full text]
  • Performing Shakespeare in Contemporary Taiwan
    Performing Shakespeare in Contemporary Taiwan by Ya-hui Huang A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire Jan 2012 Abstract Since the 1980s, Taiwan has been subjected to heavy foreign and global influences, leading to a marked erosion of its traditional cultural forms. Indigenous traditions have had to struggle to hold their own and to strike out into new territory, adopt or adapt to Western models. For most theatres in Taiwan, Shakespeare has inevitably served as a model to be imitated and a touchstone of quality. Such Taiwanese Shakespeare performances prove to be much more than merely a combination of Shakespeare and Taiwan, constituting a new fusion which shows Taiwan as hospitable to foreign influences and unafraid to modify them for its own purposes. Nonetheless, Shakespeare performances in contemporary Taiwan are not only a demonstration of hybridity of Westernisation but also Sinification influences. Since the 1945 Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party, or KMT) takeover of Taiwan, the KMT’s one-party state has established Chinese identity over a Taiwan identity by imposing cultural assimilation through such practices as the Mandarin-only policy during the Chinese Cultural Renaissance in Taiwan. Both Taiwan and Mainland China are on the margin of a “metropolitan bank of Shakespeare knowledge” (Orkin, 2005, p. 1), but it is this negotiation of identity that makes the Taiwanese interpretation of Shakespeare much different from that of a Mainlanders’ approach, while they share certain commonalities that inextricably link them. This study thus examines the interrelation between Taiwan and Mainland China operatic cultural forms and how negotiation of their different identities constitutes a singular different Taiwanese Shakespeare from Chinese Shakespeare.
    [Show full text]
  • Love's Labour's Lost
    CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS CAST Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 8pm Love’s Labour’s Lost Thursday, November 5, 2009, 7pm Friday, November 6, 2009, 8pm Saturday, November 7, 2009, 2pm & 8pm Sunday, November 8, 2009, 3pm Zellerbach Hall Shakespeare’s Globe in Love’s Labour’s Lost John Haynes CAST by William Shakespeare Ferdinand, King of Navarre Philip Cumbus Berowne Trystan Gravelle Artistic Director for Shakespeare‘s Globe Dominic Dromgoole Longaville William Mannering Dumaine Jack Farthing Director Set and Costume Designer Composer The Princess of France Michelle Terry Dominic Dromgoole Jonathan Fensom Claire van Kampen Rosaline Thomasin Rand Choreographer Fight Director Lighting Designer Maria Jade Anouka Siân Williams Renny Krupinski Paul Russell Katherine Siân Robins-Grace Text Work Movement Work Voice Work Boyet, a French lord in attendance on the Princess Tom Stuart Giles Block Glynn MacDonald Jan Haydn Rowles Don Adriano de Armado, a braggart from Spain Paul Ready Moth, his page Seroca Davis Holofernes, a schoolmaster Christopher Godwin Globe Production Manager U.S. Production Manager Paul Russell Bartolo Cannizzaro Sir Nathaniel, a curate Patrick Godfrey Dull, a constable Andrew Vincent U.S. Press Relations General Management Richard Komberg and Associates Paul Rambacher, PMR Productions Costard, a rustic Fergal McElherron Jaquenetta, a dairy maid Rhiannon Oliver Executive Producer, North America Executive Producer for Shakespeare’s Globe Eleanor Oldham and John Luckacovic, Conrad Lynch Other parts Members of the Company 2Luck Concepts Musical Director, recorder, shawms, dulcian, ocarina, hurdy-gurdy Nicholas Perry There will be one 20-minute intermission. Recorders, sackbut, shawms, tenor Claire McIntyre Viol, percussion David Hatcher Cal Performances’ 2009–2010 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.
    [Show full text]
  • HAMLET: PRESS RESPONSES Almeida & West End (2017) Shakespeare
    HAMLET: PRESS RESPONSES Almeida & West End (2017) Shakespeare www.roberticke.com FINANCIAL TIMES Ian Shuttleworth ★★★★★ I have been privileged to see several first-class Hamlets this century: Simon Russell Beale, Samuel West, David Tennant, Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, arguably Lars Eidinger. Andrew Scott is at least as outstanding as any of those, and right now I’m inclined to rank him in front. His Prince is almost always self-aware, but not self-understanding; on the contrary, his keynote is a kind of bemused wonder at goings-on both within and beyond his skin. The great soliloquies seem new-minted, every word a separate question. The playfulness at which Scott so excels (most notably as Moriarty in BBC-TV’s Sherlock) is here kept under a rigorously tight rein. I did not see this production when it opened at the Almeida a few months ago, but my impression is that neither Scott’s nor anyone else’s performance has been ramped up for a venue two and half times the size; the consequent occasional intelligibility problems are far outweighed by the sense of human scale. For this is the glory of Robert Icke’s production. It does not consist of a superlative Prince Hamlet, a clutch of fine supporting performances and a number of sharp directorial ideas stitched together into a plausible fabric; rather, it is whole and entire of itself. Angus Wright’s cool, disciplined Claudius, Juliet Stevenson’s besotted-then-horrified Gertrude, Jessica Brown Findlay’s Ophelia (at first at sea like Hamlet, finally psychologically shattered in a wheelchair), David Rintoul’s doubling of the Ghost and the Player King .
    [Show full text]
  • The Dramatic Space of Hamlet's Theatre
    Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 4, 1 (2012) 59-75 “The Play’s the Thing” The Dramatic Space of Hamlet’s Theatre Balázs SZIGETI Eötvös Loránd University Department of English Studies [email protected] Abstract. In my paper I investigate the use of the dramatic space in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The tragedy will be observed with the method of “pre-performance criticism,” which first and foremost makes use of the several potentials a play contains and puts on display before an actual performance; it offers, also in the light of the secondary literature, various ways of interpretation, resulting from the close-reading of the play and considers their possible realizations in the space of the stage both from the director’s and the actor’s point of view, including the consequences the respective lines of interpretation may have as regards the play as a whole. Hamlet does not only raise the questions of the theatrical realization of a play but it also reflects on the ontology of the dramatic space by putting the performance of The Mousetrap-play into one of its focal points and scrutinises the very interaction between the dramatic space and the realm of the audience. I will discuss the process how Hamlet makes use of his private theatre and how the dramatic space is transformed as The Murder of Gonzago turns into The Mousetrap-performance. Keywords: Hamlet; The Mousetrap; dramatic space; pre-performance criticism Shakespeare’s Hamlet1 does not only raise the questions of the theatrical realization of a play but it also reflects on the ontology of the dramatic space by putting the performance of The Mousetrap-play into one of its focal points and 1 In the present paper I quote the play according to the Norton Shakespeare edition (Greenblatt et.
    [Show full text]
  • STUDY GUIDE Introductiontable of Contentspg
    STUDY GUIDE IntroductionTABLE OF CONTENTSPg. 3 Pg. 4 Top Ten Things to Know About Going to the Theatre Cast and Creative Team Credits Pg. 5 Mysterious Shakespeare Pg. 6 Inside Vertigo Theatre- An Interview with Anna Cummer Pg. 8 Pre-Show Projects and Discussion Questions Pg. 10 Ghostly Appearances It's Time To Soliloquize Your Burning Questions Pre-Show Activities- To Get You Up On Your Feet Pg. 15 Making Up Meter The Dumbshow Post Show Discussion Questions Pg. 20 The Art of The Theatre Review Pg. 21 About Vertigo Theatre Pg.22 Vertigo Theatre is committed to creating a welcoming atmosphere for schools and to assisting teachers and parent chaperones with that process. It is our wish to foster and develop our relationship with our student audience members. It is our intention to create positive theatre experiences for young people by providing study guides and post-show talk backs with our actors and theatre personnel, in order to enrich students’ appreciation of theatre as an art form and enhance their enjoyment of our plays. IntroductionWelcome to the Study Guide for Vertigo Theatre's, The Shakespeare Company and Hit & Myth's production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story by William Shakespeare, adapted by Anna Cummer. In this guide you will find information about this new adaptation of Hamlet and Shakespeare’s connection to mystery theatre. It also includes information about the creative team and performers involved in the production, as well as a variety of activities to do with your class before and after the show. There are topics suitable for class discussion, individual writing projects, as well as games and exercises that get students moving around and learning on their feet.
    [Show full text]
  • Remembrance of Things Past: Shakespeare’S Comedies on French Television
    Remembrance of Things Past: Shakespeare’s Comedies on French Television Sarah HATCHUEL and Nathalie VIENNE -GUERRIN This essay explores how Shakespeare’s comedies were adapted, appropriated and transformed by French television, with a focus on the early days of television. The first striking fact is that, if one is to except stage productions that were filmed and then broadcast, Shakespeare has not been adapted for French television since 1980. In other words, it has been twenty-eight years since a Shakespeare play was last translated, directed and performed for the exclusive benefit of TV viewers. Shakespeare on French television is not our contempor- ary 1. Through the documentary research for this essay, we went back to a time when the mingling of Shakespeare with television seemed to be less daunting and more economically viable than it is today. From the end of the fifties to the seventies, French television offered a substantial cycle: Twelfth Night was directed by Claude Loursais in 1957, then by Claude Barma in 1962; Othello (dir. Claude Barma) appeared on the TV screens in 1962, soon to be followed by Much Ado About Nothing (dir. Pierre Badel), The Merry Wives of Windsor (dir. Roger Iglesis) and The Taming of the Shrew (dir. Pierre Badel) in 1964, by King Lear (dir. Jean Kerchbron) in 1965, and by Antony and Cleopatra (dir. Jean Prat) in 1967. The seventies saw the broadcast of Measure for Measure (dir. Marcel Bluwal, 1971), As You Like It (dir. Agnès Delarive, 1972) and Romeo and Juliet (dir. Claude Barma, 1973). This cycle of French TV Shakespeare stopped short in 1980 _____ 1.
    [Show full text]
  • CASTING ANNOUNCED for the GREATEST WEALTH in Celebration of the NHS
    PRESS RELEASE WED 13 JUN CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE GREATEST WEALTH In celebration of the NHS One Voice: Monologues funded by the TS Eliot Estate Curated by Lolita Chakrabarti Directed by Adrian Lester The NHS from the 1940s-1970s: Monday 25 June, 8.30pm The NHS from the 1980s-present: Tuesday 26 June, 8.30pm The NHS from the 1940s-present (double bill): Friday 29 June, 8pm ‘No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means.’ Aneurin Bevan The Old Vic is pleased to announce casting for The Greatest Wealth, curated by Lolita Chakrabarti and directed by Adrian Lester to celebrate 70 years of the National Health Service. Jade Anouka, Louise English, Dervla Kirwan, Ruth Madeley, Art Malik, Meera Syal, Sophie Stone and David Threlfall will perform monologues written by Moira Buffini, Lolita Chakrabarti, Seiriol Davies, Matilda Ibini, Courttia Newland, Meera Syal, Jack Thorne and Paul Unwin in response to each decade since Aneurin Bevan launched the NHS at Park Hospital, Manchester, on 5 July 1948. Each evening will also include music performed by Gloria Obianyo. Lolita Chakrabarti said: ‘I am thrilled to be curating this One Voice for The Old Vic and delighted that so many talented and accomplished actors will be a part of it. To see how inventive but truthful each writer has been and then to realise their work with this calibre of actor is fantastic. This is going to be a very special event.’ The full line up is as follows: 1940s: Boo, by Jack Thorne, performed by Sophie Stone
    [Show full text]
  • Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead the Play
    Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead The Play Act One Two ELIZABETHANS passing time in a place without any visible character. They are well-dressed - hats, cloaks, sticks and all. Each of them has a large leather money bag. Guildenstern's bag is nearly empty. Rosencrantz's bag is nearly full. The reason being: they are betting on the toss of a coin, in the following manner: Guildenstern (hereafter 'GUIL') takes a coin out of his bag, spins it, letting it fall. Rosencrantz (hereafter 'ROS') studies it, announces it as "heads" (as it happens) and puts it into his own bag. Then they repeat the process. They have apparently been doing it for some time. The run of "heads" is impossible, yet ROS betrays no surprise at all - he feels none. However he is nice enough to feel a little embarrassed attaking so much money off his friend. Let that be his character note. GUIL is well alive to the oddity of it. He is not worried about the money, but he is worried by the implications ; aware but not going to panic about it - his character note. GUIL sits. ROS stands (he does the moving, retrieving coins). GUIL spins. ROS studies coin. ROS: Heads. (He picks it up and puts it in his money bag. The process is repeated.) Heads. (Again.) ROS: Heads. (Again.) Heads. (Again.) Heads. GUIL (flipping a coin): There is an art to the building up of suspense. ROS: Heads. GUIL (flipping another): Though it can be done by luck alone. ROS: Heads. GUIL: If that's the word I'm after.
    [Show full text]
  • Hamlet on the Screen Prof
    Scholars International Journal of Linguistics and Literature Abbreviated Key Title: Sch Int J Linguist Lit ISSN 2616-8677 (Print) |ISSN 2617-3468 (Online) Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Journal homepage: https://saudijournals.com/sijll Review Article Hamlet on the Screen Prof. Essam Fattouh* English Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Alexandria (Egypt) DOI: 10.36348/sijll.2020.v03i04.001 | Received: 20.03.2020 | Accepted: 27.03.2020 | Published: 07.04.2020 *Corresponding author: Prof. Essam Fattouh Abstract The challenge of adapting William Shakespeare‟s Hamlet for the screen has preoccupied cinema from its earliest days. After a survey of the silent Hamlet productions, the paper critically examines Asta Nielsen‟s Hamlet: The Drama of Vengeance by noting how her main character is really a woman. My discussion of the modern productions of Shakespeare begins with a critical discussion of Lawrence Olivier‟s seminal production of 1948. The Russian Hamlet of 1964, directed by Grigori Kozintsev, is shown to combine a psychological interpretation of the hero without disregarding its socio-political context. The action-film genre deployed by Franco Zeffirelli in his 1990 adaptation of the play, through a moving performance by Mel Gibson, is analysed. Kenneth Branagh‟s ambitious and well-financed production of 1996 is shown to be somewhat marred by its excesses. Michael Almereyda‟s attempt to present Shakespeare‟s hero in a contemporary setting is shown to have powerful moments despite its flaws. The paper concludes that Shakespeare‟s masterpiece will continue to fascinate future generations of directors, actors and audiences. Keywords: Shakespeare – Hamlet – silent film – film adaptations – modern productions – Russian – Olivier – Branagh – contemporary setting.
    [Show full text]
  • Sources and Transmission of the Celtic Culture Trough the Shakespearean Repertory Celine Savatier-Lahondès
    Transtextuality, (Re)sources and Transmission of the Celtic Culture Trough the Shakespearean Repertory Celine Savatier-Lahondès To cite this version: Celine Savatier-Lahondès. Transtextuality, (Re)sources and Transmission of the Celtic Culture Trough the Shakespearean Repertory. Linguistics. Université Clermont Auvergne; University of Stirling, 2019. English. NNT : 2019CLFAL012. tel-02439401 HAL Id: tel-02439401 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-02439401 Submitted on 14 Jan 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. University of Stirling – Université Clermont Auvergne Transtextuality, (Re)sources and Transmission of the Celtic Culture Through the Shakespearean Repertory THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PH.D) AND DOCTEUR DES UNIVERSITÉS (DOCTORAT) BY CÉLINE SAVATIER LAHONDÈS Co-supervised by: Professor Emeritus John Drakakis Professor Emeritus Danièle Berton-Charrière Department of Arts and Humanities IHRIM Clermont UMR 5317 University of Stirling Faculté de Lettres et Sciences
    [Show full text]