Shakespeare
Order Description
There are seven options for the question.
Some of them refer to two foreign movies — Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Maqbool” and Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran” — which I do not have and cannot provide. “Maqbool” in its subtitled form is largely impossible to find for free online, but “Ran” can easily be Torrented. It’s pretty good, actually — amazing cinematography, if you’re into that stuff.
If not, there are options available that do not require you to watch any films. Choose whichever one you like.
Canadian English please, if possible.
1) Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, merges the genres of “melodrama” and “tragedy”. How successful is Bhardwaj in amalgamating the genres of “melodrama” and “tragedy”? Discuss.
2) Can it be argued that Shakespeare’s King Lear is a difficult play for a stage performance? What are the challenges in performing King Lear on stage? Discuss.
3) Is Kurosawa’s RAN a successful film adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear? Discuss the ways in which Kurosawa uses the medium of film to adapt Shakespeare’s King Lear.
4) Kurosawa’s film RAN alters the plot of Shakespeare’s King Lear, and uses the conventions of Japanese Noh theatre to adapt Shakespeare’s play. How do these changes help Kurosawa in adapting Shakespeare’s play? Discuss with the help of specific instances from the film.
5) Kurosawa’s film adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear substitutes Lear’s three daughters with Hidetora’s three sons. But Kurosawa adds two significant female characters to the plot: Lady Sue and Lady Kaede. How do these changes influence the representation of patriarchy in Kurosawa’s adaptation? Compare and contrast the critique of patriarchy in Shakespeare’s King Lear and Kurosawa’s RAN.
6) Does The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) rescue Shakespeare from its high-brow position to reconnect Shakespeare to the popular audiences, or is it an attempt to mock Shakespeare? Discuss this topic with the help of specific instances from The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged). — (Please note: For this question do not confine your secondary research to the two essays from the course syllabus: Elizabeth’s Abele’s “Introduction: Whither Shakespop?” and Marie A. Plasse’s “Crossover Dreams”. You must use at least two other secondary sources to support your argument).
7) Explain the ways in which the songs “I am the Walrus” by The Beatles and “King Nothing” by Metallica are in conversation with Shakespeare’s King Lear? Do these songs highlight the relevance of the play for contemporary audiences? Discuss. (Please make sure to support your argument with appropriate evidence from the texts – the play and the songs).
Instructions from the prof:
As explained in class, you need to support your analysis with secondary research. Your essay should deal with a minimum of 2 secondary sources. The secondary sources should be refereed journal articles, essays, or books.
– – Length: 1500 words (MLA style) along with a ‘Works Cited’ list of secondary sources. Please closely follow MLA guidelines.
– – Please write the number of the question on the first page of your essay.