Shakespeare's Festive World

ISBN-13: 9783659484841 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 320 str.

Mahmoud Gihan

Opis

The introduction highlights the concept of "festivity" and how it reached its peak in the Elizabethan age. It also discloses Bakhtins concept of the "carnivalesque" and sheds light upon the Semiotic theory. The first chapter examines the festive elements in A Midsummer Nights Dream (1595) and As You Like It (1599) as comedies. The second chapter focuses on the festive elements in two of Shakespeares great tragedies: Othello (1602-3) and King Lear (1605). The third chapter discloses the festive elements in two of Shakespeares late romances: The Winters Tale (1610) and The Tempest (1611). The conclusion presents what is deduced from this research: In the comedies, festivity builds up until it reaches its peak with the marriages of the characters at the end. In the tragedies, Shakespeare employs festivity as a tool of intrigue. In the romances, the festive spirit reigns. Yet, the ambivalence of festivity remains as the most remarkable feature.

O autorze

My name is Gihan Anwar Mahmoud Hussein. I am an assistant professor at the English Department, faculty of Arts, Cairo University. My major is drama. I obtained my M.A. degree in the year 2000 and my PH.D degree in the year 2007. I am interested in poetry, criticism, comparative studies and Shakespearean studies.