|
|
Cross-gender casting of tragedies by William Shakespeare
Mašková, Barbora ; Nováková, Soňa (advisor) ; Hančil, Jan (referee)
Cross-gender casting (i.e. the casting of female performers for male parts and vice versa) of plays by William Shakespeare is not a scarce phenomenon and is getting more and more popular in the recent years. In spite of the frequent claim of the theatre-makers and critics that it is in fact a gender blind casting, where the gender of the performer does not matter, the thesis attempts to prove that, in fact, it is not the case. This is exemplified on three most frequently staged and also most commonly cross-gender cast plays: Hamlet, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet. Via these examples the thesis shows the variability of approaches to cross-gender casting and the differences in realization. In the first chapter, the key terminology is defined, in order to avoid confusion, discussing the differences between cross-dressing, travesty and cross-gender casting. That is followed by subchapters in which the basic frame of thought is suggested, building on Judith Butler's deconstruction of gender and the concept of gender performativity. The last subchapter of this section deals with the history of cross-gender casting, including the Elizabethan all-male staging tradition. The next three chapters are then devoted to each of the plays, analyzing the possible interpretive keys and motivations for a cross-gender cast...
|
|
|
Shakespeare's Drama and Homosexuality
Mašková, Barbora ; Znojemská, Helena (advisor) ; Nováková, Soňa (referee)
Slowly developing since the 1980's, queer theory became a very important sphere of gender studies of the end of the 20th century and affected not only the very perception of gender categories, but also intepretations of these in texts. The thesis concentrates on queering of the dramatic works of William Shakespeare, describing relations which can be broadly characterized as homosexual - romantic or sexual attraction between members of the same sex, including homoerotic or homosocial aspect of these relationships. After establishing the textual grounds for these readings the text goes on to describe various stagings in theatre, television and film of Anglophone and Czech origin. In order to achieve representative illustration of the problem the established division of Shakespeare's drama is maintained, dividing the plays into three categories - comedies, tragedies and historical plays. One play of each of these categories is then discussed further. These are The Merchant of Venice for comedies, Othello for tragedies, and Richard II as a representative of historical plays. In the Merchant of Venice the discussed relationship is the one of Antonio and Bassanio, examining the possible motivation for Antonio's incredible generosity towards his young friend. The most famous homosexual interpretation of the...
|
|
|
Cross-gender casting of tragedies by William Shakespeare
Mašková, Barbora ; Nováková, Soňa (advisor) ; Hančil, Jan (referee)
Cross-gender casting (i.e. the casting of female performers for male parts and vice versa) of plays by William Shakespeare is not a scarce phenomenon and is getting more and more popular in the recent years. In spite of the frequent claim of the theatre-makers and critics that it is in fact a gender blind casting, where the gender of the performer does not matter, the thesis attempts to prove that, in fact, it is not the case. This is exemplified on three most frequently staged and also most commonly cross-gender cast plays: Hamlet, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet. Via these examples the thesis shows the variability of approaches to cross-gender casting and the differences in realization. In the first chapter, the key terminology is defined, in order to avoid confusion, discussing the differences between cross-dressing, travesty and cross-gender casting. That is followed by subchapters in which the basic frame of thought is suggested, building on Judith Butler's deconstruction of gender and the concept of gender performativity. The last subchapter of this section deals with the history of cross-gender casting, including the Elizabethan all-male staging tradition. The next three chapters are then devoted to each of the plays, analyzing the possible interpretive keys and motivations for a cross-gender cast...
|
|
|
Shakespeare's Drama and Homosexuality
Mašková, Barbora ; Znojemská, Helena (advisor) ; Nováková, Soňa (referee)
Slowly developing since the 1980's, queer theory became a very important sphere of gender studies of the end of the 20th century and affected not only the very perception of gender categories, but also intepretations of these in texts. The thesis concentrates on queering of the dramatic works of William Shakespeare, describing relations which can be broadly characterized as homosexual - romantic or sexual attraction between members of the same sex, including homoerotic or homosocial aspect of these relationships. After establishing the textual grounds for these readings the text goes on to describe various stagings in theatre, television and film of Anglophone and Czech origin. In order to achieve representative illustration of the problem the established division of Shakespeare's drama is maintained, dividing the plays into three categories - comedies, tragedies and historical plays. One play of each of these categories is then discussed further. These are The Merchant of Venice for comedies, Othello for tragedies, and Richard II as a representative of historical plays. In the Merchant of Venice the discussed relationship is the one of Antonio and Bassanio, examining the possible motivation for Antonio's incredible generosity towards his young friend. The most famous homosexual interpretation of the...
|
guest ::
