Meaning in Shakespeare- This article argues against the idea
that the plays of Shakespeare hold a permanent, frozen meaning installed by
Shakespeare and his inspirations at the time of the play’s conception; rather
they adopt a new meaning, a new relevance, each time the play is
performed. As Hawkes points out, even
Shakespeare supports this thesis in a conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia; Hamlet points out, when asked by Ophelia what the play (The Murder of Gonzago) means, that now, after he has
manipulated it, it is meant to start mischief as he seeks proof of his uncle’s
guilt, thus adopting a specific purpose.
Shakespeare: A Tribute-
“All French tragedies are parodies of themselves… They resemble each other like shoes.”
“I don’t know who first had the idea of putting
historical/political spectacles on stage… it was [Shakespeare] who raised this
type of drama to a level that we must still take to be the highest, totally
beyond the imagination of most. And so
there is very little chance that anyone will match, much less surpass him.”
“Shakespeare’s theater is a colorful gallery where the
history of the world passes before our eyes on the invisible thread of time.”
“(Each Shakespeare play) revolves around an invisible point…where
the characteristic quality of our being, our free will, collides with the
inevitable course of the whole.”
“Nature proclaims her wisdom through Shakespeare.”
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