In the second half of the nineteenth century, Canada's comic press developed a complex and extensive pattern of verbal and visual satire drawing on the powerful resonances associated with the idea(l) of Shakespeare. These texts show that Shakespeare had already by the nineteenth century become a significant part of Canadian popular culture. Chapter One investigates the extent to which Shakespeare was a part of popular culture by studying both reverential and confrontational appropriations of his works. Chapter Two takes as its starting point the admission by one of the anonymous writers for Grip that "one cannot help parodying Shakespeare" (27 May 1876, p. 2) and, from there, examines the way re-writings and political parodies interrogate, both implicitly and explicitly, received traditions and assumptions about Shakespeare. In translating Shakespeare into a "Canadian" voice, the occasional periodical pieces adopt the colonizing cultural capital of Shakespeare for Canada. The third chapter explores in close detail the use of Shakespeare in Canadian political caricature. Beyond merely choosing a Shakespearean theme, Canadian caricaturists (chief among them J. W. Bengough) use the reputation and knowledge of Shakespeare among the readers of comic periodicals to make pointed and reformist comments about the politicians and social problems of the day.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/9163 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Schagerl, Jessica Ann. |
| Contributors | Makaryk, Irene, |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 236 p. |
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