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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Shakespeare, Orson Welles, And The Hermeneutics Of The Archive, Benjamin Lynn Wagner
Shakespeare, Orson Welles, And The Hermeneutics Of The Archive, Benjamin Lynn Wagner
Theses and Dissertations
This paper examines certain theoretical underpinnings of the historical processes by which Shakespeare's history plays became the de facto collective memory of the events they depict, even when those events are misrepresented. The scholarly conversation about this misrepresentation has heretofore centered on Shakespeare's potential political motivations. I argue that this focus on a political, authorial intent has largely ignored the impact these historical distortions have had over the subsequent 400 years. I propose that, due to Shakespeare's unique place in the historical timeline of the development of collective memory, Shakespeare's historical misrepresentation in the history plays is a byproduct of …
Familial Betrayal And Trauma In Select Plays Of Shakespeare, Racine, And The Corneilles, Lynn Kramer
Familial Betrayal And Trauma In Select Plays Of Shakespeare, Racine, And The Corneilles, Lynn Kramer
Theses and Dissertations
In this dissertation I will argue that familial betrayal is a central element in sixteenth-century British tragedy and seventeenth-century French tragedy. Family relationships help to define who the characters are and provide a point of identification between the audience and the play. This identification, as Aristotle argues, is necessary for the arousal of pity and fear and thus creates the possibility of catharsis. Fear is a key component of psychological trauma. This is the main link between Aristotle’s theories and modern trauma theory but there are other overlapping ideas that form a basis as to why old tragedies still resonate …