Shakespeare and Ireland: History, Politics, Culture

by Mark Thornton Burnett (Editor), Ramona Wray (Editor)

Overview

Shakespeare and Ireland examines the complex relationship between the most celebrated icon of the British establishment and Irish literary and cultural traditions. Addressing Shakespearean representations of Ireland as well as Irish writers' responses to the dramatist, it ranges widely across theatrical performances, pedagogical practices, editorial undertakings and political developments. The writings of Joyce, Heaney and Yeats are considered, in addition to recent nationalist discourses. In so doing, the collection establishes the multiple 'Shakespeares' and competing 'Irelands' that inform the Irish imagination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349259267
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	01/01/1997
Edition description:	1st ed. 1997
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kenneth G. Henshall is Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, and has taught at the University of California, Berkeley.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors - Foreword; F.McGuinness - Introduction; M.Thornton Burnett - SHAKESPEARE AND EARLY MODERN IRELAND - Neighbourhood in Henry V; Lisa Hopkins - Shakespeare, Holinshed and Ireland: Resources and Con-texts; Willy Maley - 'Hitherto she ne're could fancy him': Shakespeare's 'British' Plays and the Exclusion of Ireland; A.Hadfield - Where is Ireland in The Tempest?; D.J.Baker - NATIONAL SHAKESPEARES, POSTCOLONIAL CULTURES - 'Shakespeare Explained': James Joyce's Shakespeare from Victorian Burlesque to Postmodern Bard; R.Brown - W.B. Yeats and Shakespearean Character; J.Allison - Shakespeare and the Definition of the Irish Nation; R.English - Bridegrooms to the Goddess: Hughes, Heaney and the Elizabethans; N.Rhodes - PERFORMANCE, PEDAGOGY, LANGUAGE - No 'Brave Irishman' Need Apply: Thomas Sheridan, Shakespeare and the Smock-Alley Theatre; B.E.Schneller - Rug-headed Kerns Speaking Tongues: Shakespeare, Translation and the Irish Language; M.Cronin - 'Tish Ill Done': Henry the Fifth and the Politics of Editing; Andrew Murphy - Shakespeare and the Sectarian Divide: Politics and Pedagogy in (post) Post-Ceasefire Belfast; R.Wray

Editorial Reviews

A dozen essays explore representations of Ireland in Shakespeare and other English Renaissance drama; the response to him by Irish writers such as Heany, Joyce, and Yeats; and his manifestation in Irish educational, linguistic, editorial, and theatrical forms. The composite picture that emerges is Shakespeare as an indicator of the contradictory processes and shifting power balances that accompany the colonial encounter. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"Henshall . . . has written a lively and literate introduction to the vast sweep of Japanese history. . . ." - Library Journal

"This informative and easily digestible work is ideal for general readers who wish to learn more about this important and fascinating nation." - Booklist

From the Publisher