Texte remanié de: Doctoral diss.--Marseille--Université de Provence, 1989. / Notes bibliogr. Index.

Doct. Thesis--Department of English--University of Uppsala--Uppsala, 1988.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2008. / Abstract only has been uploaded to OhioLINK. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-160)

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University

Thesis (Ph.D)--Boston University. / In attempting to discover the significance of laughter in interpreting Shakespeare's plays, one must realize that laughter is not always certain in any given instance, that no single, simple explanation of laughter either of the past or of the present will cover all kinds of laughter, and that people in different countries and periods laugh at different things differently. It is possible, nevertheless, to discover with considerable certainty what people laughed at in Elizabethan times. Although the small amount of sixteenth century theory about laughter probably had little direct influence upon the Elizabethan dramatists, a study of contemporary comments on the theater, of some plays by Shakespeare's contemporaries, of Elizabethan jigs, and of the jest-books of successful Elizabethan comedians indicates that certain actions, speeches, topics, and types of characters and situations were likely to evoke laughter. I drew up a list of these topics and devices for securing laughter and selected those often repeated in the various sources. The similarity of topics and devices appearing in both dramatic and non-dramatic sources makes it reasonable to believe that certain things had become established as evocative of laughter in Elizabethan times. A study of selected early religious plays, of moralities, and of school, court, and professional plays shows that certain topics on the already developed lists keep reappearing and become traditional sources of laughter and that laughter varies with the kind of audience for which a play was designed. It also shows that the repetition of certain topics for securing laughter in the same play and the constant direction of the laughter of the audience at a certain person and with others emphasized the theme of the play as, for example, in Wyt and Science with its praise of the academic virtues and the condemnation of idleness and ignorance [TRUNCATED]

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston University

The start of the research for this thesis coincided with the introduction, for the first time in state schooling, of the compulsory study and examination of Shakespeare plays at Key Stage 3. The initial stage of the research involved a survey, conducted by postal questionnaire, of the teaching of Shakespeare in fifty secondary schools in West Sussex and Hampshire. The second stage was the classroom observation in five of the surveyed schools of Year 9 lessons where Shakespeare was being taught. The third stage involved the interviewing of the five class teachers and 25% of the pupils in the observed lessons. The thesis describes and analyses, from the literature available, the development of Shakespeare teaching in secondary schools in the twentieth century. From the critical assessment of this history, together with the analysis of the data, a number of findings and key issues emerge. Year 9 is identified as the year in secondary schooling where the most teaching of Shakespeare takes place and also where the greatest variety of teaching methods are employed. In particular, this research concludes that the compulsory examination at the end of Key Stage 3 is inappropriate and has an inhibiting and limiting effect both on pupil learning and understanding of Shakespeare and on teachers' classroom practice. Shakespeare's language is identified by teachers and pupils as the biggest barrier to understanding; but the most successful teaching methods, often active methods, not only assist with pupils' understanding of Shakespeare but also contribute to the development of their overall literacy.

This thesis brings the performativity of William Shakespeare’s plays into focus; in presenting an alternative approach to his works, I show how literary criticism can be reinvigorated. Dramatic works demonstrate that, in their theatrical world, everything is mutable, and capable of evolving and changing, negating stability or reliability. Why, then, should what I term monogeneric approaches (forms of analysis that allocate one genre to plays, adopting a priori ideas as opposed to recognising processes of dramatic construction) to criticism remain prevalent in Shakespearean scholarship? Performativity, as defined by Judith Butler, is a concept that focuses on the dynamic constitution of a subject, rather than on the end result alone (whether ‘female’ for gender, or, for example, ‘comedy’ for plays). In establishing an analogical relationship between the performativity of gender and the performance of dramatic works, I offer new, interpretive possibilities for dramatic works, moving away from monogeneric methods. Constructing a method of analysis based on performativity allows an approach that recognises and privileges dramatic dynamism and characterisation. The role of female characters is vital in Shakespeare’s works: we see defiant, submissive, calculating, principled and overwhelmingly multifaceted performances from these characters who, I argue, influence the courses that plays take. This thesis joins a conversation that began in 335BCE with Aristotle’s Poetics. In acknowledging and interrogating previous scholarship on genre in Shakespeare’s works, I trace monogeneric themes in analysis from Aristotle, through A.C. Bradley, through to later twentieth- and twenty-first-century critics. I challenge the practice of allocating genre based on plot features, including weddings and deaths; such actions are not conclusively representative of one genre alone. To enable this interrogation, I establish relationships between theories such as Nicolas Bourriaud’s work on artistic exchange; Jacques Derrida’s hypothesis on participation and belonging; and feminist research by scholars including Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva. Performance analysis is a vital component of this thesis, alongside textual analysis. In a number of cases, multiple performances of a dramatic work are considered to illustrate the fascinating variety with which the text is translated from page to stage and the impact of different directorial decisions. I use the term ‘textual analysis’ to include the varying editions of Shakespeare’s plays, and to consider that every Complete Works publication is not, in fact, complete. The existence of quarto texts makes clear an important process of dramatic evolution, particularly when dramatic works and their allocated genres shift between quarto and Folio versions. Such textual instability highlights the difficulties inherent in applying singular identities to dynamic works. In locating performativity at the core of dramatic works and emphasising the key role of female characters, this thesis brings performance to the fore and presents an alternative ‘lens of interpretation’ for readers, watchers, teachers and scholars of Shakespeare.

The topic of the thesis is the connection of the renowned bard and writer William Shakespeare with the Law. The thesis points out some of the most interesting legal remarks, which can be found during the course of the study of the Shakespeare's texts. The aim of the thesis is to broaden the knowledge of the depth of Shakespeare's plays, romances and sonnets and their legal connotation that never ceases to amaze both the general public, and the readers of legal education. The thesis is prefaced by the treatise regarding the connection of the law with the literature through the Law and Literature movement. The following chapter notes reasons why is it appropriate to study literary texts for the practice of legal professions, namely in the connection to the courts' decisions. Decisions of the US Supreme Court and the Czech Constitutional Court are mentioned in the thesis. In the following lines the author notes the issues one might face while translating the Shakespeare's remarks, especially those of legal connotation ; and mentions some of Shakespeare's law-related remarks. A notable portion of the thesis deals with three plays and their law-related contents. In the passage regarding the comedy Measure for Measure, Shakespeare's interest in a topic that is still actual nowadays is pointed out - the...