‘Word and Self Estranged in English Texts, 1550-1660, by Philippa Kelly and L.E. Semler (Eds).
When I received this book for review, my first thoughts were, ‘I hope it’s not as dry to read as the title suggests’; I’m pleased to report that it isn’t at all. I was impressed that the editors have taken great care in choosing, not only accessible scholarly articles but those which create debate and inform about Shakespeare’s texts in a mostly new and exciting way.
The hardback book crams a lot into its 231 pages, admittedly 12 of which are an index. By having each individual article put its references at the close rather than in a bunch at the end of the book, I think makes it easier for the student to find related points of follow up or interest, rather than wading through the final chapters for the odd relevant article or book title.
Although this review will focus on the three chapters relating to Shakespeare, the book also contains many other contributions and illustrations on subjects such as Milton
For me, Chapter 5 held the most fascination and (surprisingly, given the title and subject) the most interest. Jean E. Howard has to be commended for merging a scholarly look at teaching Shakespeare in Australia with a very in depth discussion of how the very way we look at Shakespeare’s work is related to the individual contexts we bring to it as individuals. She uses a fascinating example (pp 102-104) of the Baz Luhrmann film Romeo + Juliet, explaining how the film and play can both be deemed ‘authentic’ in their own way, despite derision to the contrary, mainly due to the films use of language, blended and mixed with its vibrant imagery for sure, but the original text none the less. This appears to students as being easier to understand than the text itself, surprising them when she reveals it is identical to many copies of the play published as ‘serious’ play texts.
The next chapter Estranging Word and Self in Twelfth Night, is again a lot more interesting to read and absorb than the title suggests, by the way this is a book which may be improved by the odd glance at a dictionary! R.S.White focuses on a different look at how language shapes what we see and read into a play text, as well as an idea of what Shakespeare was thinking when he wrote both King Lear and Twelfth Night. White shows how conversation and dialogue in a play, both between characters and often to the audience allows the viewer/reader to drive the plot. He illustrates this by a long section about the handkerchief in Othello where the audience is privy to more than the characters, and how the multi layered plot, driven by the questions and responses of those involved in the scene. The whole chapter itself illustrates nicely the link between words spoken and the individual self, as perceived by others and the individual, something which is inherently complicated but is made almost understandable by White in an easy to comprehend way.
The two remaining chapters focusing on Shakespeare do not succeed quite as much in their attempts to find new ways of linking Shakespeare and language. In Chapter 7, Lawrence Warner focuses on parallels of Dido and St Thomas Beckett, both better known to c1600 audiences and the way in which Shakespeare took the oral history of Othello as a Moor and blended his story into the wooing of Desdemona. This chapter doesn’t succeed as well as the other two in creating debate and a new way of looking at the play texts as it focuses too much on how Shakespeare ‘borrowed’ and was influenced by others, this is well known to many and doesn’t really fit with the tone of the other chapters.
Chapter 8 is a little more interesting, although not hitting the heights of chapter 5. Christine Couche looks at ‘a Mind Diseased’ and its links to Lady Macbeth’s Madness, as presented in Macbeth. This is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays and I for one am pleased to see some recognition of how both Macbeth and his wife’s mental issues are created by circumstances, both those that we see such as the murder of Duncan as well as those only implied in the text, such as the possibility of lady Macbeth’s loss of a child. Couche goes on to examine how madness would have been perceived and understood in the time the play was first performed and how mental illness in general creates more questions than answers within the play. Although this chapter succeeds on a general level, as one who has studied mental health in a historical context, I can’t help but wonder why Couche insists on retro-diagnosing Lady Macbeth with post natal depression, as if Shakespeare had chosen to illustrate a point about Mothers and mental health in the play, instead of simply leaving the cause of her madness ambiguous by design.
All in all, worth a read if you can afford the £50+ price tag, or are willing to wait for a paperback or Kindle version a few months from now. If not, a trip to the library may reward students and enthusiasts who are able to look past some parts and see the book as a whole.
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