Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
LBB AN129 G2 History of English Literature I. Seminars Block 4 Shakespeare’s chronicle plays Richard III History play: emerged in the earlier 16th century from the morality form; the nation as the figure at the centre of the moral struggle History: an exploration of human political behaviour. → themes: the relation between man and power (the desire for power, man’s response to gaining it and then to being deprived of it), the figure of the king (the relationship between the theoretical amplitude of the office and the human limitation of the man who holds it), legitimacy, the relation between the morals of the king and the well-being of his subjects. Shakespeare’s use of history: selecting, shaping, amplifying, and frequently adding to chronicle material in order to intensify concentration on political issues and on their human consequences Richard III: Genre – tragedy as well as history play (tragedy according to the medieval idea – recording the rise and fall of princes). Using sources, adding a dramatic shape – somewhat arbitrary use of historical facts. 1483-85: events crammed together The starting point: medieval world, Christianity. The war (Wars of the Roses) – attacking this order; Richard – open attack. Richard the ‘almighty’. Turning point: the murder of the princes – Richard’s control of events deserts him. Complete change – the great wheel of Fortune. His faith deserting him. Negative relationship towards peace. The eve of the battle of Bosworth: the visit of the Ghosts. The end: the fall of Richard, the rise of the Tudor family, peace for England Strong dependence on the central character. The myth of a fiend-like king. Physical deformity – usually exaggerated. Opening monologue: ‘programme’, explanation, inviting the reader/audience to witness his actions. Totally aware of his capabilities, good knowledge of his world and people. Using vanity and thirst for power – advancing towards his aim: the throne of England. Masterfully manipulating people. Interests moving the world – the strongest one is decisive The deformed character – special feature; distinctive, serving as excuse; almost a means of pre-determination. Charisma, self-control, wit. Intellectual leadership: the only intelligent person in the drama – evil but intelligent. Others: rather empty, led by mere thirst for power. His fall: necessary – cf. the Wheel of Fortune. The medieval world vs. the Renaissance world – Richard: Renaissance, under the influence of Macchiavelli – unlike the historical Richard III, the truly medieval king Very little humour; violence off-stage. Plot: talk rather than action The Shakespearean Tragedy Othello More intimate scale – no supernatural elements, the political consequences of the action are not emphasised – personal rather than public life. Domestic scale Jealousy, envy and misplaced trust – interrelated motives. Central dynamic: the hero’s change in attitude towards Desdemona. Othello’s weakness destroys his happiness as his trust turns into jealousy and then murderous hatred under the influence of Iago. Contrast: his trust in Iago is firm – until the end. In the end, the forces of trust and love regain their strength – but the power of evil has been demonstrated by then Othello: placed between Iago and Desdemona; resembling the morality tradition – Iago is associated with the devil several times, Desdemona may be seen as representing Christian love and resignation to the will of God in her martyrlike acceptance of her undeserved end LBB AN129 G2 History of English Literature I. Seminars Block 4 Manipulating the settings – both place and time. Place: Act I – Venice. A closed society, racial distrust, strong commercial values – yet this society is capable of trust and co-operation too. Cyprus – isolated. Time: ‘Double time’: no opportunity for Desdemona’s infidelity /very short time-span if seen as real time/. Act I: real time, necessary for the introduction. Sh chooses an unrealistic time span rather than a weeks-long scenario in which an adulterous affair could evolve realistically. The device of the ‘double time’ – strategic references suggestive of a different time frame Othello is not a hero through triumph, but because he is an incarnation of basic human energies, both good and bad. She sacrifices herself to her love and he himself to his grief that he was inadequate to it. With Othello’s recognition of his error, order is implicitly restored The Shakespearean Romance The Tempest Romance. A recently developed genre; elements of tragedy and comedy within a framework of magic and exoticism taken from literary romances. Also: a moral allegory of great beauty and emotional power Very little actual plot. Bizarre characters, extravagant effects, magic. Conspiracies – they all lead to the reconciliation at the end of the play Complexity – based on contrasts: art and nature, imagination and reality, discipline and laxity, civilisation and savagery – a powerful image of the moral nature of mankind Main contrast: between art (human ingenuity) and nature. Prospero (control of the island, creation of order after the chaos and barbarity of Caliban’s reign) vs. Caliban (“natural man” – son of a witch and the devil, unteachable monster). This contrast extends to the supernatural beings too – Ariel is a spiritual being (the potential spirituality of the human being), whereas Caliban is utterly material (the human propensity to waste that spirituality in materialism and sensual pleasure) Caliban: the ‘natural man’; repeatedly associated with the New World; hinting at the relative merits of nature and civilisation (disagreeing with the idea that natural man was a healthy counter to the ills of civilisation) Prospero’s magic – the boundaries of reality (uncertainty about the difference between reality and illusion). Several miniature plays (banquet, masque, tableau) – shifting realities, a number of levels of realities Transformations: even Prospero, the agent of transformations, is not immune to change – although his occurs largely before the play. Antonio: the only character not changing – significant motif in the effect of the play. Not a clear and unambiguous conclusion: Prospero does not entirely succeed in effecting his reconciliation, for Antonio remains silent. The defeat of evil is not complete – acknowledging that an evil once committed can never be entirely compensated for (cf. the tragedies of Shakespeare) Nevertheless, traditional happy ending of comedy. Marriage, inheriting the crown of Naples – focus on the future, suggesting the rebirth of the world Importance of the patient acceptance of whatever life brings – the pattern of loss and recovery is only realised through this strength; the importance of forgiveness Ben Jonson: Volpone, or the Fox /1605/ Volpone, or the Fox: satiric comedy (exposing, ridiculing and correcting a vice); mixture of savagery and humour, a rather different approach to the human being than in Shakespeare’s LBB AN129 G2 History of English Literature I. Seminars Block 4 comedies. Ironic basic situation: a cunning rich man pretends a mortal illness so that his wealthy neighbours would court his favour in the hope of being named his heir. Jonson does not stop here: disinheriting the son, offering the protected wife as a prostitute – the seemingly endless depths of human degradation for the sake of wealth. In the end the villainies are exposed and punished Scene: Renaissance Italy – accepted by the English imagination of this time as the proper home of vice, but the satire is general and deeply misanthropic – the English characters of the play (travellers falling victim to the manipulations of Volpone and Mosca) Extremely intricate and ingenious plot – mounting pace of action, progressive exposure of avarice; tragic moment is also involved (Celia is nearly raped by Volpone) The tone is set in the opening lines – Volpone greeting his treasures, showing a perverted system of values (treasury as shrine, his possessions as saint). Blank verse; extravagance of imagery in Volpone’s and Mosca’s speech (indicative of their obsession with wealth) Morality tradition is still visible in the structure of the play and in the names. Dehumanisation: names of birds of prey, animals of the lower order – characters animated by the basest instincts. (Voltore: vulture, Corbaccio: raven, Corvino: crow falling victim to Volpone: fox and his parasite, Mosca: fly)