Speak It in Welsh

Wales and the Welsh Language in Shakespeare

Inbunden, Engelska, 2007

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Beskrivning

"Speak It in Welsh": Wales and the Welsh Language in Shakespeare examines the marginalized Welsh voice in Shakespeare's plays and seeks to understand why Shakespeare may have included Wales and the Welsh in his plays as he reacts to, reflects, and contributes to the formation of early modern Britain. Today, contemporary English playwrights seldom turn to Wales as a subject or setting for their works, and infrequently do they include Welsh characters in their plays. Yet during the English Renaissance, we find a great many plays about Wales, set in Wales, or with Welsh characters on stage entertaining English-speaking audiences. From the quarrelling captains in Henry V to the linguistically challenged lovers in I Henry IV, to the monoglot vocalist Lady Mortimer, to the proud Sir High Evans, Shakespeare creates Welsh characters whose voices, language use, and presence help reflect one aspect of British identity. Beginning with Tudor Welsh language policy and its impact on Welsh identity and Britishness, with attention paid to foreign language usage in the Henriad and the characterization of Wales and the Welsh in Shakespeare's plays,"Speak It in Welsh" illustrates how Shakespeare offers a dramatic portrayal of a newly evolving Britain and how he constructs a model for English and Welsh coexistence for a newly forming British identity.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2007-09-16
Mått:163 x 240 x 23 mm
Vikt:515 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:226
Förlag:Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN:9780739117606

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Mer om författaren

Megan S. Lloyd is associate professor at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Recensioner i media

The place of Wales in Shakespeare, and the place of Shakespeare in Wales, extends far beyond the setting of Cymbeline and the character of Glendower. Megan Lloyd, like Fluellen, offers a Welsh correction to an English condition—the condition of paying too little heed to England's neighbor nations. Lloyd is to be congratulated for bringing such clarity of purpose and critical acumen to discussion of the vital but vexed nature of Anglo-Welsh relations in the early modern period.'Speak It in Welsh' is a valuable contribution to current debates around colonial and national identities in Shakespeare and in Renaissance studies more generally. By examining the Welsh dimensions of Shakespeare alongside the work of his contemporaries, and establishing a detailed historical context for questions of language and identity, Lloyd makes a convincing case for the importance of Wales as a site of resistance, a source of rhetoric, and a staging post for idea about empire and union. All those interested in the politics of performance, and the ways in which issues of race and representation crisscross the drama, will find something to savour in this rich and rewarding study.

Innehållsförteckning

Chapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 Chapter 1: "To Speak Welsh": Nonsense and Subversion in Henry IV, Part IChapter 3 Chapter 2: "The Lady Speaks in Welsh": Lady Mortimer and Tudor Policy in Shakespeare's I Henry IVChapter 4 Chapter 3: "I cannot speak your England": Language, Britishness, and Shakespeare's HenriadChapter 5 Chapter 4: Acquiesce or Eat My Leek: Approaches to Assimilation in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry VChapter 6 Chapter 5: Location, Location, Location: Wales in CymbelineChapter 7 Chapter 6: Welsh "Noise" and Communicating Couples: Playing Welsh Language and Culture on StageChapter 8 Chapter 7: "Here the Lady Sings a Welsh Song": Shakespeare's Welsh Language in PerformanceChapter 9 Appendix A: The Welsh Language and the Welsh Character on StageChapter 10 Appendix B: A Note on Editions