Postcolonial Shakespeare Rewrites

Content

The idea that postcolonial texts are often in direct opposition to canonical European texts and thus function as a kind of counter-discourse or “writing back” is generally accepted within postcolonial theory. Rewrites of Shakespeare, in particular, have been the focus of such counter discursive strategies. Caryl Phillips, who was born in St. Kitts and brought up in Britain, is well known for his postcolonial rewrites of canonical European texts. His fifths novel, The Nature of Blood (1997), can be read as a fierce postcolonial Shakespeare rewrite that examines a number of key issues manifest in postcolonial writing, one of them the bleak pain of the “other”: By tying different time frames together in four distinct narratives Phillips demonstrates how little difference there is in the treatment of minorities outside their own lands, whether they be Jews or people of colour, or both.

Objectives

In this seminar, students will be made familiar with the postcolonial strategy of “writing back” by taking a closer look an Othello-and-The Merchant of Venice rewrite, namely Phillips’s novel The Nature of Blood which will, in addition, be read in conjunction with Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl. As will be illustrated, Phillips’s text, just like so many other Shakespeare rewrites, draws on the ambiguities inherent in the pre-texts, in order to engage in a dialogue with the Renaissance texts and activate a re-thinking of their relevancies for Western and postcolonial societies. Through this cross-cultural reading, students will be introduced to seminal theoretical concepts pertaining to Postcolonial Studies.

Prerequisites

A completed BA in English.

Requirements for credits

M_AA_1: Active participation in every session of the class based on the student’s close reading of the seminar texts is expected.

M_AA_3: PVL: Oral presentation (25 minutes) and regular participation in every session of the class based on the student’s close reading of the selected texts is expected. Oral exam (15 minutes).

Set texts

Phillips, Caryl. The Nature of Blood. Vintage.

Shakespeare, William. Othello. (Arden, 1472571762)

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. (Arden, 9789382563235)

Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. The Definite Edition. Penguin.

A reader with selected theoretical texts will be provided at the beginning of the semester (OPAL).