Reading | Why is the drama strong vitality?Interpret Shakespeare from a historical perspective

"Shakespeare after theory"

[Beauty] David Scott Caston

Chen Xing translated

Published by Zhejiang University Press in 2022

Shakespeare wrote many popular literary works in his life, and also created countless English vocabulary and expression. For hundreds of years, Sha Xue's research has continued to prosper, and scholars have continued to explore new explorations. In this book, Shadower David Scott Caston pointed out that although we are now accustomed to thinking that Shakespeare's "does not belong to a moment, Angelica is a world", the strong vitality of Shakespeare's drama is exactly derived from the one who gave birth to them History era. In the book, the author fully restores Shakespeare's drama art to achieve and produce a original environment of meaning. Combining the political system, social customs, theater operations, etc. in this period, it shows the connotation of the drama. New method of Shakespeare.

>> Selected reading in the text:

New and old history in "Storm"

The only one mentioned in the Sayama drama "America", of course, is "wrong comedy", but in the end, the drama of Shakespeare's exploration of European and new continent in the eyes of people is another. Comedy "Storm". In 1808, Malon reminded us for the first time to pay attention to the relationship between this drama and Virginia's dossier, and pointed out that these files are the materials that are most likely to be called "Storm" story. Since then, people have always believed that Thomas Gates and his men's experience in Bermuda provided specific locations and drama names for the old sets and rescue stories in the play, which constituted the drama's legendary drama framework.

After Malong, the critics have been claiming that Gates' ship was blown away from the coast of Virginia by "the terrible storm" and escaped miraculously. Drama imagination. Various narrative texts on the Virginia incident seem to be regarded as the basic sources and blueprints of the play. In 1901, the editor of the first edition of Yadden School Morton Rus pointed out that the "Tanhai" was "in inspiration for the main event in" Storm ". He then wrote, "We can almost say that among the content written by Shakespeare's" Storm ", ninety -tenths come from the inspiration brought by the new cause of colonial."

Of course, although the recent comments on "Storm" reiterated the new world background of this drama, it has actually dragged it out of the ideal world of the legendary drama. Today, the experience of the Virginia colonists is no longer just a timely reminder, making people realize the eternal structure of the legendary model. Among them, "mortal accidents" will "be washed by seawater and become a rich thing". , People can feel "natural great and created hands", streamlined the chaos of the world, and restart the continuation of love and humans. "Storm" is no longer a drama about social contradictions, reconciliation and moral rejuvenation, but also no longer a drama about kind art and God's will. It now seems that it is a literature that vividly shows the initial situation of England's imperialism, which is closely related to the power will of the Palace of James I, and it is even essentially a "imperial tool".

This is the orthodox idea of ​​"Storm" comments today, but it must be pointed out that this is not the orthodox idea of ​​"Storm" performance. The latter often chooses artistic themes and scenes for well -known reasons, although it has also realized the contradictions and tension in the text. If the relationship between "Storm and Rain" on the stage is still optional. In literary criticism, an assertion that is associated with the colonial cause of the Americas seems to be unavoidable and can even extend to historical dimensions.

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Author: [Beauty] David Scott Caston

Edit: Yuan Yuanlu

Editor in charge: Zhu Zilong

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