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Gothic literary works are characterized as such by their ability to represent and evoke terror. The form this representation takes is varied; often terror originates in the atmospheric effects of settings, in the appearance of mysterious, supposedly supernatural phenomena, and, perhaps most significantly, in the behavior of villainous characters. Shakespearean tragedy participates in just such an exploration of the origins and effects of terror. This thesis will examine three aspects of the Shakespearean Gothic in three of his most frightening and disturbing tragedies: Macbeth, King Lear and Titus Andronicus. All three of these texts represent terror in ways that are significant not only for genre studies but for historicist cultural studies as well. Shakespeare's particular vision of the terrible tends to represent unruly women and ethnic minorities as demonized others who threaten normalized social and moral order, and also evokes a religious dread--a fear of the cruelty or, more radically, the nonexistence of God--that would have proved particularly disturbing for Early Modem Christian culture. This reading of Shakespeare demonstrates both the influence of his vision on later writers and the trans-historic applicability of the Gothic aesthetic. / Graduation date: 2004

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One of the most perplexing figures in Shakespeare's tragedies is Lady Macbeth. In light of recent feminist studies, Lady Macbeth must be studied in the social and historical context of Shakespeare's own era. By comparing the situation of women at that time with the vast number of social constraints placed on them through state channels, we see these women emerging from the social ideal of the cloistered submissive wife despite the attempts of patriarchal politics to restrain their advances. / Lady Macbeth's actions are often interpreted as those of a bloodthirsty woman overstepping her social position. But Lady Macbeth is a product of a perverse society which worships the warrior-hero and dictates the importance of being a man, "broody, bold, and resolute". Interestingly, contrary to many interpretations, Lady Macbeth never attempts to be anything but a submissive, devoted wife. She and her husband embody the paradoxes inherent in their culture.

This dissertation is an investigation of a creative pedagogical approach formulated to teach the Shakespearean play in a KwaZulu-Natal public high school, namely Grove End Secondary in Phoenix, Durban. The study explores how my formulated creative pedagogy for teaching The Merchant of Venice (1980) functions as an alternate creative teaching methodology to the current pedagogical approach, namely the text-based approach, which appears not to acknowledge the performative element inherent within Shakespearean plays. This study argues that through creative learning processes such as drama in education, creative drama, experiential learning, group dynamics and playmaking, learners can engage the performative aspect within the plays. The study also argues that creative learning processes can diminish the apprehension with which learners currently approach Shakespearean play study, since creative processes stimulate the learners’ imaginative ideas, as opposed to the educator-centered text-based approach, which requires little or no input from the learners during the learning process. Through the implementation of the creative pedagogy with eighteen learners from Grove End Secondary, the research aimed firstly, to evoke a positive attitude change from learners towards Shakespearean play study and secondly, to guide the learners towards a better understanding of the Shakespearean play narrative and Shakespearean language. The research was conducted through classroom action research. Research methods included data collection of journals, surveys, and questionnaires that were analysed throughout the course of the case study. Outcomes of the continuous data analysis reflected upon during the case study resulted in the adaptation of the creative pedagogy to suit the learners’ needs. The qualitative nature of this research led to findings which reveal that the creative pedagogy is an effective methodology for teaching Shakespearean plays, but is problematic when trying to integrate the educational aims of the creative pedagogy, with the constraints and structures of the current curriculum and public school system. The research also produces data which can benefit future inquiry into the creative teaching of Shakespearean plays in KwaZulu-Natal public high schools. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.