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
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 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
