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Conference

English Language and Literature

Western University

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory

"Words, Words, Words": The Idea Of The Absurd As Method In Hamlet., Anthony Faber Mar 2013

"Words, Words, Words": The Idea Of The Absurd As Method In Hamlet., Anthony Faber

Modern Languages and Literatures Annual Graduate Conference

In this paper I explore the idea that Hamlet develops the notion of the absurd as a method with which to confront his world: however, as art imitates nature, Hamlet's discourse of "an antic disposition" suggests, that he in fact embodies the absurd as constituting a meaningless existence.


Class Movements In The New South Africa: Post-Colonial Politics, Neocolonialism, And Mimicry In Pieter-Dirk Uys’S Macbeki A Farce To Be Reckoned With, J. Coplen Rose Mar 2013

Class Movements In The New South Africa: Post-Colonial Politics, Neocolonialism, And Mimicry In Pieter-Dirk Uys’S Macbeki A Farce To Be Reckoned With, J. Coplen Rose

Modern Languages and Literatures Annual Graduate Conference

This paper uses Homi Bhabha’s theory of colonial mimicry to analyze Pieter-Dirk Uys’s MacBeki: A Farce to be Reckoned With. In doing so I posit MacBeki is a colonial mimic, a character who comically imitates European gestures and language. MacBeki’s behaviour throughout the play highlights the dangers of greed and corruption in post-apartheid South Africa and encourages the play’s audience to respond with ridiculing laughter. My paper concludes by arguing that Uys’s play should be read as a hybrid text that draws on European dramatic styles and South African political events, staging a critical response to national uncertainties ahead …