"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play belongs to the post Osborne and Beckett theatrical generation in which authors could no longer be pigeonholed neither from the political nor from the stylistic point of view. Stoppard later transformed the play into a film script which won the Golden Lion at the XLVIII Venice International Film Festival in 1990. The reason behind the success of this tragedy is the popularity of "Hamlet". Written during the last years of the Elizabethan era, it shows the gradual dissolving of its core values: the fact that nothing seems to have sense any more is deeply rooted into the Shakespearean tragic hero, and his dilemma mirrors the fear of the modern man of losing his own role and, with it, his own identity. Stoppard re-writes the Shakespearian drama not by altering the plot, but by presenting it through the eyes of two minor characters, thus by performing a 'poetical misunderstanding' of Hamlet – a device that, with its discussion, parody, ridicule, and, sometimes, celebration of the typical values of traditional culture, belongs to the common practices of postmodern authors in their depiction of reality.
Existing analyses of Carl Schmitt's account of representation tend to treat together Roman Catholicism and Political Form (1923), which is concerned with the Catholic Church's 'representation,' and Constitutional Theory (1928), which touches on representation vis-a-vis more traditional political questions.1 Such treatments typically lean heavily on a particular passage from the later text to explicate the earlier . . . [Excerpt provided by TELOS]. Adapted from the source document.
This essay explores the ways Hamlet dramatizes early modern epistemophilia, a drive towards knowledge that is infused with passion and triggered by desire. Hamlet's desire to know "what lies inside" picks up rhetorical, scientific and philosophical threads of knowledge to see whether they are able to dissect, along with the deep recesses of the body, the density of language and of time. I submit that Hamlet's quest for knowledge finds its sense and its urgency in the Ghost's poisonous story (I.v), where the biblical Fall is said to be beyond salvation and yet imposed upon as the foundational scene of action. In fact, I propose to read the whole play as a striking revisitation of that Fall, which stages and re-enacts the trauma of Protestant modernity. Hamlet is thus seen to partake in the early modern interrogation of the Scriptures, an impressive cultural venture whose political and religious implications the play masterfully foregrounds. More than any biblical exegete could have done, Hamlet shows the ways in which desire feeds the search for knowledge. And through a close reading of selected passages, I set out to trace andexplore the loci of such desire. I also point to ways in which Hamlet's lines of questioning – of the body, of Time, of memory techniques and of their encroachment upon oblivion – ultimately converge into one, all-encompassing interrogation of knowledge.Keywords: Hamlet, Epistemophilia, Traumatized memory, Desire
The interest in the reception of Shakespeare beyond the borders of Britain has always been great, and scholarly writings on the issue have been very extensive. However, there are very few research projects focusing on the aspects of this reception in a country with a totally different cultural, political and social setting. It is well known to scholars in performance studies that local context could strongly influence a play's staging and interpretation. The socio-political situation and the influence of the dominant political powers on art are among the most decisive determinants of the context. When in 1932 the Shah invited a Russian-Armenian Hamlet to perform on stage in Iran, intellectuals and reformists attached great expectations to a "Hamlet" performance as a vehicle for fostering progress of modern theatre and facilitating modernisation. In the meantime, the state, as mobiliser of this phenomenon into the country, had its own political intentions. Since that date any production of "Hamlet" deals with a dynamic cultural and social exchange. This research aims at investigating this cultural mobility and its effect in the history of modern Iran. Iran is a country with a century-long history of performing "Hamlet" under three different authoritarian political regimes. The research tries to find out why Western theatre had always been an important and critical subject for Iran's political systems, and what happened to "Hamlet" while passing cultural borders and dealing with impediments of the destination country. The evolution of Western drama from the cycles of mystery and miracle plays is well known. Less well understood is the parallel development in Iran. By the late 19th century, the mystery play, "Taziya" was on the brink of giving birth to a secular Iranian drama. However, due to the turbulent history of the Constitutional Revolution at the beginning of the 20th century and the fundamental social and political changes in the big towns of Iran, "Taziya" lost royal and upper-class patronage. From the middle of the 19th century onward, the production of Western dramas was encouraged. Iranians had their first glimpse at Shakespeare through a translation of "The Taming of the Shrew" in 1900, and since then Shakespeare absorbed significant attention of Iranian elites who presumed theatre as the best instrument for importing modern culture to Iranian society. Shakespeare's importance in view of the Constitutional Revolution is, to some extent, that this constitutional period can be called Shakespeare period. Among all of Shakespeare's translated works, "Hamlet" received the widest attention in modern Iranian theatre. The victory of the Islamic Revolution was followed by enthusiastic efforts aimed at transforming this very Western art of drama, into a fully local form of art based on the new revolutionary culture and values. There is no doubt that every major social event, particularly cultural and political revolutions are followed by their own specific culture, literature and art. After the initial onset of the Islamic Revolution, more Farsi translations and adaptions of "Hamlet" have appeared than of any other Shakespeare's works. Hamlet's nature, as persona, is of such fluidity that it enables him to conform to diverse circumstances. With significant growth in the use of symbolism and signs in theatrical performances, "Hamlet" turned out to perform as the best metaphor of the current situation. With the help of a descriptive research method my research tries to clarify the circulation of "Hamlet" from text to performance on Iranian stages and the role of agencies in this transportation. Based on qualitative data collection, interviews and analysis of the theory of cultural mobility and semiotics, four effective elements are being analysed: Religion, Power, Gender and Agency. The research will be narrowed by Case Study of nine highly relevant "Hamlet" productions in the historical epoch of 1900 to 2012.
The interest in the reception of Shakespeare beyond the borders of Britain has always been great, and scholarly writings on the issue have been very extensive. However, there are very few research projects focusing on the aspects of this reception in a country with a totally different cultural, political and social setting. It is well known to scholars in performance studies that local context could strongly influence a play's staging and interpretation. The socio-political situation and the influence of the dominant political powers on art are among the most decisive determinants of the context. When in 1932 the Shah invited a Russian-Armenian Hamlet to perform on stage in Iran, intellectuals and reformists attached great expectations to a "Hamlet" performance as a vehicle for fostering progress of modern theatre and facilitating modernisation. In the meantime, the state, as mobiliser of this phenomenon into the country, had its own political intentions. Since that date any production of "Hamlet" deals with a dynamic cultural and social exchange. This research aims at investigating this cultural mobility and its effect in the history of modern Iran. Iran is a country with a century-long history of performing "Hamlet" under three different authoritarian political regimes. The research tries to find out why Western theatre had always been an important and critical subject for Iran's political systems, and what happened to "Hamlet" while passing cultural borders and dealing with impediments of the destination country. The evolution of Western drama from the cycles of mystery and miracle plays is well known. Less well understood is the parallel development in Iran. By the late 19th century, the mystery play, "Taziya" was on the brink of giving birth to a secular Iranian drama. However, due to the turbulent history of the Constitutional Revolution at the beginning of the 20th century and the fundamental social and political changes in the big towns of Iran, "Taziya" lost royal and upper-class patronage. From the middle of the 19th century onward, the production of Western dramas was encouraged. Iranians had their first glimpse at Shakespeare through a translation of "The Taming of the Shrew" in 1900, and since then Shakespeare absorbed significant attention of Iranian elites who presumed theatre as the best instrument for importing modern culture to Iranian society. Shakespeare's importance in view of the Constitutional Revolution is, to some extent, that this constitutional period can be called Shakespeare period. Among all of Shakespeare's translated works, "Hamlet" received the widest attention in modern Iranian theatre. The victory of the Islamic Revolution was followed by enthusiastic efforts aimed at transforming this very Western art of drama, into a fully local form of art based on the new revolutionary culture and values. There is no doubt that every major social event, particularly cultural and political revolutions are followed by their own specific culture, literature and art. After the initial onset of the Islamic Revolution, more Farsi translations and adaptions of "Hamlet" have appeared than of any other Shakespeare's works. Hamlet's nature, as persona, is of such fluidity that it enables him to conform to diverse circumstances. With significant growth in the use of symbolism and signs in theatrical performances, "Hamlet" turned out to perform as the best metaphor of the current situation. With the help of a descriptive research method my research tries to clarify the circulation of "Hamlet" from text to performance on Iranian stages and the role of agencies in this transportation. Based on qualitative data collection, interviews and analysis of the theory of cultural mobility and semiotics, four effective elements are being analysed: Religion, Power, Gender and Agency. The research will be narrowed by Case Study of nine highly relevant "Hamlet" productions in the historical epoch of 1900 to 2012.
This essay examines Pablo Avecilla's Hamlet, an 'imitation' of Shakespeare's tragedy of the prince of Denmark published in 1856, both in its own terms and in the historical context of its publication. This Shakespearean adaptation has been negatively judged as preposterous and unworthy of comment, but it deserves to be approached as what it claimed to be, a free handling of the Shakespearean model, and as responding to its own cultural moment. Avecilla turns the Shakespearean sacrificial prince into a righteous sovereign that has kept the love of a lower-ranked lady and, by pursuing revenge, has successfully overthrown a dishonourable and corrupt ruler. This re-focusing of the Shakespearean plot and politics recalls the French neoclassical adaptation by J-F. Ducis in 1769. In fact, Avecilla seems to combine neoclassical form, which he advocated in his 1834 treatise Poesía trágica, with more Romantic traits at a time when playgoers demanded stronger sensations. As with Ducis's Hamlet and its earliest translation-adaptations in Spanish at the turn of the century, the alterations from the Shakespearean model may be seen to have political resonances. Seen in the historical context of the so-called Progressive Biennium of 1854-1856, Avecilla's emphasis on virtue and implicit approval of popular uprising led by an idolized authority is in tune with contemporary concerns for the right of the people and their leaders to rise up against immoral rule, with the Progressives' support for both monarchy and national sovereignty, with their criticism of the corruption of conservative governments prior to the 1854 revolution, and with the role of 'revolutionary' generals such as O'Donnell and Espartero. This political interpretation is strengthened when Avecilla's own political involvement in the Progressive programme is taken into account.
This essay examines Pablo Avecilla's Hamlet, an 'imitation' of Shakespeare's tragedy of the prince of Denmark published in 1856, both in its own terms and in the historical context of its publication. This Shakespearean adaptation has been negatively judged as preposterous and unworthy of comment, but it deserves to be approached as what it claimed to be, a free handling of the Shakespearean model, and as responding to its own cultural moment. Avecilla turns the Shakespearean sacrificial prince into a righteous sovereign that has kept the love of a lower-ranked lady and, by pursuing revenge, has successfully overthrown a dishonourable and corrupt ruler. This re-focusing of the Shakespearean plot and politics recalls the French neoclassical adaptation by J-F. Ducis in 1769. In fact, Avecilla seems to combine neoclassical form, which he advocated in his 1834 treatise Poesía trágica, with more Romantic traits at a time when playgoers demanded stronger sensations. As with Ducis's Hamlet and its earliest translation-adaptations in Spanish at the turn of the century, the alterations from the Shakespearean model may be seen to have political resonances. Seen in the historical context of the so-called Progressive Biennium of 1854-1856, Avecilla's emphasis on virtue and implicit approval of popular uprising led by an idolized authority is in tune with contemporary concerns for the right of the people and their leaders to rise up against immoral rule, with the Progressives' support for both monarchy and national sovereignty, with their criticism of the corruption of conservative governments prior to the 1854 revolution, and with the role of 'revolutionary' generals such as O'Donnell and Espartero. This political interpretation is strengthened when Avecilla's own political involvement in the Progressive programme is taken into account.
Bibliography: pages 226-230. ; The problem of artistic endeavour and recognition of creative imaginative writing at a time of revolutionary scientific and industrial activity, brings into focus the re-evaluation of the artist during intense economic development. The intellectual crisis of the artist in Germany, 1870-1895, is strongly influenced by the emphasis on financial success and scientific observation. This emphasis is linked to the new aesthetic and artistic expectations, which are influenced by the political and social reality of the industrial age. Naturalism is characterised by an abundance of theoretical literature; Arno Holz is regarded as the greatest of the theorists and his work Papa Hamlet, written together with Johannes Schlaf, is an attempt to combine theoretical consideratiohs with the "new" art. This thesis critically examines Papa Hamlet against the background of social, political and economic change. The investigation into four major areas includes firstly the intellectual crisis in relation to the "Grunderzeit"; the sentimental art of this period is strongly rejected as it in no way reflects the reality of the industrial age. It is vitally important for the artists to be seen as modern, reflecting the truth of the age in which they write. This truth requires the work of art to be as close a reproduction of nature, of real life, as possible. Attention to detail becomes vital and leads Arno Holz to the "Sekundenstil." Secondly, this thesis confronts Papa Hamlet with theoretical background as defined by Arno Holz. Thirdly the attempt made by Holz and Schlaf not to interfere as authors between the piece of prose and the reader, leads to the question of prose versus drama. The investigation leads also into the problem of the lower middle class artist who is confronted by economic difficulties and finds himself threatened by the working class. Thienwiebel's perseverance as "Hamlet", symbolic of an art no longer acceptable, brings a discussion on the traditional German "Bildungsroman". Finally, Arno Holz maintains that Art can only be revolutionised if language is revolutionised; these claims are examined in Papa Hamlet. It is my contention that the artist's claim of being democratic is strongly to be questioned as Papa Hamlet can only be really appreciated by readers who have studied Hamlet by Shakespeare. The greatest achievement by the Naturalists lies in questioning existing values; scientific observation and creative spirit. The Art of Arno Holz, in particular the "Sekundenstil", may be seen to be the· forerunner of Expressionism, Surrealism and Dadaism.
Carl Schmitt's Hamlet or Hecuba (1956) is a peculiar text. For one, it stands out as the only detailed interpretation of a literary work that Schmitt ever produced. This is not to deny Schmitt's overall erudition and familiarity with Western literature nor his particular interest in the intricate relationship between aesthetics and politics, all of which can be traced throughout his writings from the 1910s to the 1950s. But the fact remains that apart from Hamlet or Hecuba, Schmitt did not employ close readings of literary texts as a means to elaborate on his politico-philosophical ideas. Hamlet or Hecuba is... [Excerpt provided by TELOS]. Adapted from the source document.
"In this first full-length biography of Alexander Bogdanov, James D. White traces the intellectual development of this key socialist thinker, situating his ideas in the context of the Russian revolutionary movement. He examines the part Bogdanov played in the origins of Bolshevism, his role in the revolutions of 1905 and 1917 and his conflict with Lenin, which lasted into Soviet times. The book examines in some detail Bogdanov's intellectual legacy, which, though deliberately obscured and distorted by his adversaries, was considerable and is of lasting significance. Bogdanov was an original and influential interpreter of Marx. He had a mastery of many spheres of knowledge, this expertise being employed in writing his chief theoretical work Tectology, which anticipates modern systems theory"--
Ghosts are never far from the surface in the work of Venezuelan poet Eugenio Montejo, concerned as it is with loss and its possible poetic restitution. Two of his poems are based around Hamlet and its spectral figure: "Hamlet Acto Primero" ["Hamlet Act One"] and "La hora de Hamlet" ["Hamlet's hour"]. They draw attention to fundamental hauntings in Montejo's writing and being. The Hamletian ghost at stake is initially that of a quasi-rural Golden Age, at times symbolised by Simón Bolívar, whose loss is linked to the emerging dominance of capitalism, against which the poet must fight. But the ghost is also that of the caudillo Juan Vicente Gómez, who haunts Venezuelan politics and society. The poet is, then, also called finally to finish off Gómez. In Hugo Chávez, the poet sees both the continuation of essentially capitalist policies and the embodiment of Gómez's ghost. But Montejo responds to the chance to exorcise this spectre with poetic silence. Is this a Derridean recognition that to speak is merely to respectralise the caudillo figure? Or does it suggest that opposition is not about expressing criticism or dissent, but about creating an alternative space: a poetic space?
No Hamlets' is the first critical account of the role of Shakespeare in the intellectual tradition of the political right in Germany from the founding of the Empire in 1871 to the 'Bonn Republic' of the Cold War era. In this sustained study, Andreas Hofele begins with Friedrich Nietzsche and follows the rightist engagement with Shakespeare to the poet Stefan George and his circle, including Ernst Kantorowicz, and the literary efforts of the young Joseph Goebbels during the Weimar Republic, continuing with the Shakespeare debate in the Third Reich and its aftermath in the controversy over 'inner emigration' and concluding with Carl Schmitt's Shakespeare writings of the 1950s. Central to this enquiry is the identification of Germany and, more specifically, German intellectuals with Hamlet. The special relationship of Germany with Shakespeare found highly personal and at the same time highly political expression in this recurring identification, and in its denial. But Hamlet is not the only Shakespearean character with strong appeal: Carl Schmitt's largely still unpublished diaries of the 1920s reveal an obsessive engagement with Othello which has never before been examined. 0Interest in German philosophy and political thought has increased in recent Shakespeare studies. 'No Hamlets' brings historical depth to this international discussion. Illuminating the constellations that shaped and were shaped by specific appropriations of Shakespeare, Hofele shows how individual engagements with Shakespeare and a whole strand of Shakespeare reception were embedded in German history from the 1870s to the 1950s and eventually 1989, the year of German reunification
Multitudes of intermedial Shakespearean adaptations have captured Iranian theatrical stage, cinema or radio as the Bard's texts are frequently modernized, transfigured and indigenized especially since 1975. Hamlet works well in the mechanisms of temporality, spatiality, power, control and sexuality, socio-political discourses, economic upheaval, female self and gender struggles even in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Hence, Iranian directors such as Varuzh Karim-Masihi and Arash Dadgar as well as the British director Gregory Doran have re-interpreted this text based on new ideological grounds in which the characters are at times similar or different. In this article, the transformation and characterization of major characters, especially female ones such as Gertrud/Mah-Tal'at and Ophelia/Mahtab, are analyzed based on Hutcheon's Adaptation Theory and Foucault's surveillance to see how they are represented in an Asian society whose Islamic ideology necessitates a unique transcultural, transhistorical rendition. The comparative study of these works reveals that since Shakespeare's era, women's social representations have gone under great changes although the governments' surveillance has largely increased.
This monograph offers a detailed consideration of the five-volume novel written by Cao Xueqin and translated into English as The Story of the Stone, when read through William Shakespeare's drama Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, A Tragedy in Five Acts. The book builds on the superlative David Hawkes/John Minford English language translation, which is inspired by resonances between the English Shakespearean literary heritage and the dynasties-old Chinese literary tradition inherited by Cao Xueqin. The Introduction sets out the potential for the significant cultural exchange between these two great literary works, each an inexhaustible inspiration of artistic and scholarly re-interpretation. Two chapters bring into consideration two universal literary themes: patriarchy – filial obedience and family honour, and tragic romantic love. These chapters are structured so that a key episode in Hamlet provides the initial perspective, which is then carried through to an episode in The Story of the Stone which offers points of complementarity: in-depth interpretation draws on inter-textual, historical and contemporary contexts referenced from the immense body of scholarly research which has accumulated around these iconic works. The third chapter proposes a new reading of the problematic 'shrew' character in the novel, Wang Xi-feng, through tracing the similarities of the structure of the narration of her life and death with a Shakespearean five-act tragedy.
