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This book shows that Shakespeare's dramatization of compassion, far from expressing a sense of universal empathy, stages a conflicted emotion available to be solicited, manipulated and at times even monopolized as a discursive vehicle for the exclusion of others.Drawing on the history of emotions and on Shakespearean classical studies, Anne Sophie Refskou argues both that Shakespeare's compassion expresses his own historical and cultural moment and is at the same time the product of his close engagement with literature from the classical past. In so doing, she traces a set of recurrent strands in Shakespeare's engagement with discourses of compassion throughout his playwriting career, situating them in relation to plays written for the early modern stage by contemporaries, including Thomas Kyd, George Peele, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe, John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. Individual chapters offer readings of Titus Andronicus, Richard III, Hamlet and King Lear by way of comparative analysis of key classical texts – including Euripides'Hecuba and The Trojan Women, Vergil's Aeneid and Ovid's Metamorphoses – from which Shakespeare and his fellow playwrights drew sustained inspiration. Together, the chapters demonstrate how Shakespeare's engagement with the classical literature, from which he inherited a spacious understanding of the social efficacy of emotion, enables his dramatization of issues that are central to the current critical field, including questions of race, gender, sexuality and the relationship between human beings and nonhuman animals.

This book explores a fresh and insightful interpretation of Hamlet's Gertrude as a prominent and powerful figure in the play. It shows how traditional readings of this character, both performance-based and scholarly, have been guided and constrained by misogynistic perspectives on female power.Bringing together the author's wealth of insight from a theatre practitioner's perspective and combining it with a scholarly perspective, the book argues that Gertrude need not be limited to sex and motherhood. She could instead be played as Denmark's blood royal Queen, her role in the play then being about female political power. Gertrude's royal status could play out on stage through a variety of possible performance choices for stage design, stage business, acting processes, and the actor's presence – both speaking and silent.Hamlet's Hereditary Queen takes into consideration Shakespeare's source myths, historical studies of the position of queens and the issues concerning them in early modern England, Hamlet's performance history, and the text itself. It questions traditional readings of Hamlet, and offers detailed analyses of relevant scenes to demonstrate how Gertrude's Hamlet might play out on stage in the twenty-first century.This is an engaging and insightful interpretation for students and scholars of theatre and performance studies and Shakespeare studies, as well as theatre practitioners.

Voices and accents are increasingly perceived as central markers of identity in Shakespearean performance. This book presents a history of the reception of Shakespeare on the English stage with a focus on the vocal dimensions of theatrical performance. The chapters identify key moments when English accents have caused controversy, if not public outrage. Sonia Massai examines the cultural connotations associated with different accents and how accents have catalysed concerns about national, regional and social identities that are (re)constituted in and through Shakespearean performance. She argues that theatre makers and reformers, elocutionists and historical linguists, as well as directors, actors and producers have all had a major impact on how accents have evolved and changed on the Shakespearean stage over the last four hundred years. This fascinating book offers a rich historical survey alongside close performance analysis.

This volume explores the transnationality and interculturality of early modern performance in multiple languages, cultures, countries and genres. Its twelve essays compose a complex image of theatre connections as a socially, economically, politically and culturally rich tissue of networks and influences. With particular attention to itinerant performers, court festival, and the Black, Muslim and Jewish impact, they combine disciplines and methods to place Shakespeare and his contemporaries in the wider context of performance culture in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Czech and Italian speaking Europe. The authors examine transnational connections by offering multidisciplinary perspectives on the theatrical significance of concrete historical facts: archaeological findings, archival records, visual artefacts, and textual evidence.

Tragedy is one of the oldest and most revered forms of literature in the western world. Over the centuries, tragedy has shown a tremendous capacity to reinvent itself, often emerging at crucial moments in the evolution of cultural, political and intellectual history.Not only is tragedy marked by its diversity, the critical literature surrounding the genre is equally diverse. This Reader's Guide offers a comprehensive introduction to the key criticism and debates on tragedy, from Aristotle through to the present day. Sarah Dewar-Watson presents the work of canonical theorists and lesser-known but, nonetheless, influential critics, bringing together a strong sense of the critical tradition and an awareness of current scholarly trends. Stimulating and engaging, this essential resource helps students to navigate their way around the subject of tragedy and its rich critical terrain.

Tragedy is one of the oldest and most revered forms of literature in the western world. Over the centuries, tragedy has shown a tremendous capacity to reinvent itself, often emerging at crucial moments in the evolution of cultural, political and intellectual history.Not only is tragedy marked by its diversity, the critical literature surrounding the genre is equally diverse. This Reader's Guide offers a comprehensive introduction to the key criticism and debates on tragedy, from Aristotle through to the present day. Sarah Dewar-Watson presents the work of canonical theorists and lesser-known but, nonetheless, influential critics, bringing together a strong sense of the critical tradition and an awareness of current scholarly trends. Stimulating and engaging, this essential resource helps students to navigate their way around the subject of tragedy and its rich critical terrain.

Moderne mythische Gestalt und Kernbestand des kulturellen Kanons. Kaum eine Figur beherrscht so sehr die westliche Vorstellung vom Theater wie Shakespeares Hamlet. Das Handbuch beschäftigt sich mit dem Hamlet-Stoff und seiner Deutung und vermittelt Hintergrundwissen zum Shakespeareschen Drama. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf der vielgestaltigen Rezeptionsgeschichte. Sowohl die Bühnengeschichte als auch die Aneignungen der Figur in Kunst, Literatur, Musik, Film und Populärkultur werden ausführlich beleuchtet. Mit vielen Beispielen, teilweise in englischer Sprache.

In recent years, the'Popular Shakespeare'phenomenon has become ever more pervasive: in fringe productions, mainstream theatre, or the mass media, Shakespeare is increasingly constructed as an authentic part of popular culture. A vivid account of Shakespeare in performance since the 1990s, this book examines what'Shakespeare'means to us today.

Macbeth is the most concentrated and intense of Shakespeare's tragedies. This dark, thrilling drama of intrigue, witchcraft and murder can be seen as a profound exploration of evil, a powerful study of psychological turmoil, a penetrating examination of urgent political issues and a searching enquiry into masculinity and femininity. Over four centuries, the play has attracted a huge body of commentary, generated a wide range of fascinating interpretations and provoked vigorous controversy.In this Reader's Guide, Nicolas Tredell considers the key critical responses to Macbeth from the early seventeenth to the twenty-first century. He provides concise accounts and assessments of the most vital commentaries and interpretations, setting them in their critical, theoretical and historical contexts. Lively and authoritative, this survey is an invaluable resource for students, teachers and all those who wish to deepen their grasp of the crucial concerns of Macbeth criticism and to engage in the ongoing critical debates about the play.