This thesis explores John Milton's complex and seemingly ambivalent stance on warfare through The Tenure, Eikonoklastes, The Second Defense, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes....Show moreThis thesis explores John Milton's complex and seemingly ambivalent stance on warfare through The Tenure, Eikonoklastes, The Second Defense, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. It argues that Milton's definition of war is complex. Milton understands two distinct forms of warfare: righteous and unrighteous warfare. In line with these distinct forms, Milton also holds two distinct opinions. To a modern reader this may appear paradoxical, but within Milton's own perception, this idea is consistent.Show less
This MA thesis examines the representation of hierarchy in John Milton's 'Paradise Lost' (1667/1674). Much scholarly attention has been devoted to Milton's representations of hierarchy within a...Show moreThis MA thesis examines the representation of hierarchy in John Milton's 'Paradise Lost' (1667/1674). Much scholarly attention has been devoted to Milton's representations of hierarchy within a specific context, such as his representation of gender hierarchies. However, throughout 'Paradise Lost' and his prose works Milton is preoccupied with this theme of hierarchy in a range of different contexts. Moreover, Milton's representations of hierarchical structures are not always straightforward and seem to differ depending on the context. In order to analyse this reoccuring theme, Milton's representations of hierarchy in 'Paradise Lost' and the relevant prose works will be examined within three different contexts, namely politics, gender, and ecology.Show less
The plays by Shakespeare have been adapted countless times. However, the original plays are often themselves based on other stories, or historical accounts. The history plays, for example, are...Show moreThe plays by Shakespeare have been adapted countless times. However, the original plays are often themselves based on other stories, or historical accounts. The history plays, for example, are written on the basis of historical accounts. In this sense, they are already adaptations in their own right. This makes any adaptation of one of his plays a double adaptation; an adaptation of an adaptation. This thesis will take this notion as its starting point. It will take a look at how Shakespeare used his sources in Coriolanus, and after analysing this play, two adaptations for the screen will be analysed, Ralph Fiennes 2011 film and Robert LePage’s 2019 stage adaptation. The focus of the analyses will be on which themes are emphasised in a particular adaptation, and how these themes are informed by the times in which the work was created. Fiennes and LePage move the political arena away from the speeches Shakespeare uses in his play. Instead, they create a modernised, media arena becomes the place where politicians fight for control over Rome.Show less
This MA thesis examines how several early modern English poets and playwrights draw on and modify discourses about female-female desire. It looks at the poems “Sapho to Philaenis” (1633) by John...Show moreThis MA thesis examines how several early modern English poets and playwrights draw on and modify discourses about female-female desire. It looks at the poems “Sapho to Philaenis” (1633) by John Donne, “The Description of Cookham” (1611) by Aemilia Lanyer, and “To My Excellent Lucasia” (1654) by Katherine Philips. I will also investigate The Convent of Pleasure (1668) by Margaret Cavendish, and William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595). These poems and plays are read in tandem with early modern discourses of medicine and friendship. Medical texts generally condemn sexual relations between women through the transgressive figure of the tribade, who is characterised by unbridled lust. Discourses of friendship propose a different figure: that of the platonic female friend. Both discourses propose radically different views on female love. Furthermore, writers within each discourse often disagree with one another and do not present a unanimous verdict on the significance, danger, and prevalence of female-female attraction, desire, and love. This leaves room for writers of poetry and plays to experiment with their portrayals of love between women. Poets and playwrights write far more nuanced portrayals of female same-sex desire and love than medical and amicitial discourses may lead us to expect, often making a case for the potency and validity of female-female love.Show less
Machiavelli’s theory as described in The Prince has been a great influence on the theories of acquiring political power. Because Machiavelli’s name is connected with deceit and immorality,...Show moreMachiavelli’s theory as described in The Prince has been a great influence on the theories of acquiring political power. Because Machiavelli’s name is connected with deceit and immorality, especially in early modern England, many Elizabethan playwrights engaged with his doctrine to excite their audiences. This thesis argues that Marlowe engages with Machiavelli in two distinct manners. On the one hand there is the simplified, misinterpreted Machiavellian. These characters may appear to follow Machiavelli’s doctrine. However, because their actions go against Machiavelli’s doctrine, they are not able to achieve their goals. On the other hand there are the true Machiavellian characters, who are able to show the power of the individual by following Machiavellian doctrine. These characters can overcome their troubles and achieve actual political power. An analysis of The Jew of Malta and Tamburlaine the Great makes this distinction clear. Although Barabas is introduced as a Machiavellian by Machevill himself, his actions continuously go against his doctrine. The secondary, Christian character Ferneze does use his tactical planning skills to turn unpredictable situations to his advantage. Tamburlaine uses these same Machiavellian tactics on an epic skill. Although Tamburlaine’s cruelty is extreme, Machiavelli would approve as they are essential to his reputation and conquest. In Doctor Faustus, although often overlooked in this discussion, Marlowe depicts the importance of focus and knowledge in the acquirement of political power. Lucifer and Mephistopheles use Machiavelli’s doctrine to victory. In Doctor Faustus, Machiavellianism truly is the devil’s doctrine.Show less
In her highly influential book Gender Trouble, as well as in other publications such as “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution” and “Imitation and Gender Insubordination,” Judith Butler argues...Show moreIn her highly influential book Gender Trouble, as well as in other publications such as “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution” and “Imitation and Gender Insubordination,” Judith Butler argues for the performative nature of gender and especially the performativity of heterosexual masculinity. She discusses gender as a theatrical performance and claims that gender is, in essence, an imitation of a non-existent original. She argues that gender is collectively produced by society in a way similar to how plays are produced for the stage. The performance of cross-dressing can be especially disruptive of the illusion that gender identity is built around a stable core, and often highlight the every-day performance that is masculinity. Although most Shakespeare plays do not explicitly discuss cross-dressing practices, female roles in Shakespeare’s England were performed by young boys. Some of the plays do discuss the theme overtly, especially those that feature double cross-dressing. In the plays As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Cymbeline, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, female characters disguise themselves as men for an array of reasons. The boys in these plays literally perform two genders as a role – both the (traditional) female and male gender role are performed on the stage. Through this, the boundaries of gender are blurred and its performativity highlighted. Scholars such as Michael Shapiro and Stephen Orgel have researched gender in Shakespeare’s plays extensively. In their respective books, Gender in Play on the Shakespearean Stage and Impersonations: The performance of gender in Shakespeare’s England, they discuss what effect the presence of the boy actors has on the plays and how Shakespeare deliberately alluded to their presence. Through jests, comments and allusions, Shakespeare’s plays explore the act of cross-dressing, homoeroticism and question gender boundaries. Shakespeare’s (double) cross-dressed characters highlight the performativity of gender, especially masculinity, in a way similar to what Butler discusses in her works on gender performativity. Casey Charles, in his essay “Gender Trouble in Twelfth Night”, applies Butler’s ideas to several scenes in the play. He argues that “Judith Butler's critique … provides a useful model for understanding” how Shakespeare’s plays disrupt traditional ideas on gender and sexuality. His application of Butler to Twelfth Night in turn provides a model for the analysis of other plays in this thesis. In this thesis, I will first discuss Butler’s ideas on performative gender. Secondly, I will analyse how gender is portrayed as a performative act in three plays: The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night and As You Like It. Thirdly, I will discuss how the casting boys or (young) men in original productions of these plays impacts the meaning of the disguises, as well as that of the plays as a whole. After investigating the original texts and productions, I will also analyse modern productions of the three plays by Shakespeare’s Globe company, and show how they deal with the notions of boy actors, performative gender and cross-dressing, as well as Shakespeare’s original comments and allusions. I will argue that within the three plays, comments, humour, and reflexive allusions highlight the presence of the boy actor. Through these, the plays also portray gender – especially masculinity – as a performative act that is similar to the acts that Butler describes in her work. Since most modern productions opt for women to play the cross-dressed characters in the play, many of the intended allusions are lost. Therefore, it is essential for the preservation of both the originally intended plays as well as the timeless messages on gender they carry that all-male productions remain.Show less
When John Milton's Paradise Lost was translated to Arabic, several aspects played a decisive role shaping up the final products. The two major Arabic translations of Milton's work represent two...Show moreWhen John Milton's Paradise Lost was translated to Arabic, several aspects played a decisive role shaping up the final products. The two major Arabic translations of Milton's work represent two different approaches to the poem. These approaches are the result of historical, cultural, social and religious components, which led the translators to settle for specific word choice and press specific themes in the poem instead of others. This study sheds a light on how contextual components determine the final translation of Milton's work. It also compares the two major Arabic translations of the poem in order to examine the differences historical, cultural, social and religious contexts produce in the final product.Show less
In the His Dark Materials trilogy, Philip Pullman attempts to adapt John Milton's Paradise Lost. In doing so, Pullman inverts the theological message at the heart of Milton's epic poem. This thesis...Show moreIn the His Dark Materials trilogy, Philip Pullman attempts to adapt John Milton's Paradise Lost. In doing so, Pullman inverts the theological message at the heart of Milton's epic poem. This thesis looks at the adaptation process, identifying its features and the motivations that go along with it.Show less
This thesis describes the history and development of Jewish immigrant theater in New York, focusing on a Yiddish translation of Shakespeare's play "Othello". Comparing this version of Othello to...Show moreThis thesis describes the history and development of Jewish immigrant theater in New York, focusing on a Yiddish translation of Shakespeare's play "Othello". Comparing this version of Othello to other Yiddish translations of Shakespeare's plays, this thesis offers a description of the problems that Jews in America encountered during the process of integration into American society.Show less
This MA thesis examines the representation of the Fall of Man in John Milton’s 'Paradise Lost' from a Lacanian angle. Using Lacan’s ‘Mirror Stage’ and his tripartite schema of the ‘Real’, the ...Show moreThis MA thesis examines the representation of the Fall of Man in John Milton’s 'Paradise Lost' from a Lacanian angle. Using Lacan’s ‘Mirror Stage’ and his tripartite schema of the ‘Real’, the ‘Imaginary’, and the ‘Symbolic’ orders as a template, I will address the repercussions of the Fall and establish to what extent the move from the Real, through the Imaginary, to the Symbolic can be seen to be mirrored in the move from a pre-lapsarian state to a post-lapsarian reality in 'Paradise Lost'. In the first chapter, I argue that, since God exists in perfect proximity to the Real-like Word, Satan embodies the post-lapsarian Symbolic word in and through his separation from God's prototypical, pre-lapsarian language. In chapter two, I extend this main argument and apply it more locally to the Edenic level of Adam and Eve and their respective relationships with the Word of God. The Fall of Man, then, comes to feature as the event that introduces the Lacanian Symbolic order to Eden, by the hand of Satan, its prime instigator.Show less
Tom Lanoye's play Koningin Lear is an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear. Not only is it a radical modernization of the plot, it is also a translation from English to Dutch. In adapting and...Show moreTom Lanoye's play Koningin Lear is an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear. Not only is it a radical modernization of the plot, it is also a translation from English to Dutch. In adapting and translating King Lear, Lanoye uses for his play Koningin Lear elements from the original combined with new elements, resulting in hybridity. This hybridity is a dual hybridity since there is hybridity in both the play as a translation and as an adaptation.Show less
This BA thesis explores the nature of individual human agency in the second season of the television series The Wire. Drawing on Althusserian or Gramscian thought, involving the question of...Show moreThis BA thesis explores the nature of individual human agency in the second season of the television series The Wire. Drawing on Althusserian or Gramscian thought, involving the question of ideology and its limiting effects on human agency, I have argued that the nature of human agency in The Wire is problematic. The characters, especially in the second season, are bound by an ideological discourse. Chapter two has shown that the characters are involved in an ideological discourse of their own and that determines the extent of their individual agency. In addition, and in dialogue with the ideologies that bind the characters, there is the (creators of the) series’ own ideological response to this, both in terms of the plotting and on a more formal level (discussed in chapters three and four respectively).Show less
Edmund Burke's views already were conservative at the time of the American Revolution and he continued with this line of thought during the French Revolution. Thomas Paine also remained consistent...Show moreEdmund Burke's views already were conservative at the time of the American Revolution and he continued with this line of thought during the French Revolution. Thomas Paine also remained consistent with his revolutionary thoughts, but his views were not as widespread as the American victory and the swiftness of the revolutionary reforms made in 1789 suggest. Meanwhile, Burke’s conservative desires were certainly not obsolete and his views saw surprising support, and not, as one might expect, just from nobility trying to keep their privileges.Show less
