The influence of Italian literature on Shakespeare’s work has been dealt with by many scholars. Robin Kirkpatrick discusses Shakespeare’s fascination with Italy, visible in the many references to Italian names and topography, as well as in the way he incorporates the “philosophical themes and literary aspirations” (279) of his Italian predecessors and contemporaries. Several of Shakespeare’s plays, especially The Tempest, have been analysed in the context of Italian pastoral drama. However, Kevin Gilvary asserts that his plays are not mere repetitions of Italian pastorals. He suggests that they should be analysed as adaptations, which, according to Linda Hutcheon, are forms of “repetition with variation” (4). Hugo Vandal-Sirois and George Bastin …show more content…
According to Chaudhuri, Shakespeare “undermines the power and stability of the pastoral” (358), and because of this, his plays become “part of a larger conception of the pastoral” (367) alongside those of his more conventional Italian predecessors. This essay will argue that Shakespeare’s pastoral plays can be seen as adaptations of Italian drama, but that he uses the Italian conventions ambiguously in order to suggest that the countryside can be a temporary alternative to the court, but not a permanent solution. In order to do this, the plays of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, and The Tempest will be compared to various Italian plays. It will be analysed how Shakespeare adapts the plot and themes of these plays, making the pastoral world more ambiguous, and how his way of dealing with his predecessors reflects his attitude towards the dichotomy between nature and the …show more content…
According to Walter, Tasso and Guarini developed new conventions of pastoral drama that later became wide-spread (100). Shakespeare’s pastoral plays show several similarities with the plays by Tasso and Guarini. First of all, both Aminta and Il Pastor Fido are set in Arcadia, a pastoral world far removed from the chaos of the city. In the case of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It, the play is set in a forest, whereas The Tempest is set on a deserted island. In all three plays, the plot develops away from the court. Another convention of Italian pastorals, developed by Agostino Beccari in his play Sacrifizio, is a complicated romantic plot (Walter 84). The complicated love triangles in both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It mirror those in Guarini’s Il Pastor Fido. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream especially, the romantic plot is parallel to that of Il Pastor Fido in both onset and resolution, although it develops differently. In As You Like It, the relationship between Silvius and Phebe is similar to the one between Aminta and Silvia in Tasso’s play. Furthermore, Il Pastor Fido features two characters cross-dressing in order to observe and seduce their romantic counterparts. In both cases, this indirectly influences the resolution of the plot. In
Shakespeare, William, Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Andrew Gurr. The Norton Shakespeare. Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997. Print.
William Shakespeare has become landmark in English literature. One must be familiar with the early days of English literature in order to comprehend the foundation of much of more modern literature’s basis. Shakespeare’s modern influence is still seen clearly in many ways. The success of Shakespeare’s works helped to set the example for the development of modern dramas and plays. He is also acknowledged for being one of the first writers to use any modern prose in his writings.
Mowat, Barbara A. and Paul Werstine, ed. Introduction. Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Washington Square Press, 1993.
William Shakespeare, an illustrious and eminent playwright from the Elizabethan Age (16th Century) and part owner of the Globe theatre wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which he portrays the theme of love in many different ways. These include the paternal love seen in the troubled times for Egeus and his rebellious daughter Hermia, true Love displayed with the valiant acts of Lysander and Hermia and the destructive love present in the agonizing acts of Titania towards her desperate lover Oberon. Through the highs and lows of love, the first love we clasp is the paternal love from our family.
Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 39-55)
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994.
Vickers, Brian. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1993.
Cohen, Walter, J.E. Howard, K. Eisaman Maus. The Norton Shakespeare. Vol. 2 Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. New York, London. 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-92991-1
Shakespeare, William, and Kim F. Hall. Othello, the Moor of Venice: Texts and Contexts. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. Print.
Vickers, Brian. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1993.
Given, Welker. A Further Study of the Othello: Have we misunderstood Shakespeare's Moor?. The Shakespeare Press. New York, 1899.
Barthelemy, Anthony G. "Introduction" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 1-19)
In this brief examination of the Tempest, it becomes obvious that the play is a mirror image of the progression of events in the Bible. This use of Christian elements in the play is not obvious upon first reading the play, but becomes undeniable as the action progresses. The motif of Christianity in other Shakespearean works is not as structured and in-depth as the motif found in the Tempest.
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994.