Type
Text
Type
Thesis
Advisor
Huffman, Clifford. | Videbæk, Bente
Date
2016-12-01
Keywords
English literature
Department
Department of English
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/77511
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
As You Like It and Hamlet have as a central consideration the need for the restoration of order and the establishment of good governance. A comparative analysis of the roles of the clowns in both plays, using primary and secondary data, reveals that they expose a corrupt political directorate and offer social and political commentary through dialogue, soliloquies, asides and other forms of direct communication with the audience. As You Like It is a romantic comedy in which the usurping Duke causes the courtiers to flee from tyranny by going into exile in the forest of Arden. Touchstone, the jester, offers satirical commentary that guides the plot and engages the audience. Hamlet, on the other hand is a tragedy, but the political issues are similar. King Claudius has murdered his brother, the former king, married his sister-in-law, then arranged his own coronation. Prince Hamlet, whom it was anticipated, would be elected, returns home from studies for his father’s funeral and is angered by what he discovers. Hamlet’s decision to feign madness and assume the role of the clown in order to secretly investigate the circumstances of his father’s death proves to be a dangerous move as his uncle is Machiavellian. The comic scenes in which Hamlet acts as a clown, serve as relief from the mounting tension of the impending tragedy. In conveying their themes, both clown/jester stage characters provoke humor that serves as a temporary veil for significant social and political commentary. So while the actions and words of Touchstone and Hamlet sometimes cause a chuckle or create hilarity, the comic scenes serve to bring a greater awareness to audiences of the dangers of Machiavellian leadership, and the importance of sincerity as well as love. | As You Like It and Hamlet have as a central consideration the need for the restoration of order and the establishment of good governance. A comparative analysis of the roles of the clowns in both plays, using primary and secondary data, reveals that they expose a corrupt political directorate and offer social and political commentary through dialogue, soliloquies, asides and other forms of direct communication with the audience. As You Like It is a romantic comedy in which the usurping Duke causes the courtiers to flee from tyranny by going into exile in the forest of Arden. Touchstone, the jester, offers satirical commentary that guides the plot and engages the audience. Hamlet, on the other hand is a tragedy, but the political issues are similar. King Claudius has murdered his brother, the former king, married his sister-in-law, then arranged his own coronation. Prince Hamlet, whom it was anticipated, would be elected, returns home from studies for his father’s funeral and is angered by what he discovers. Hamlet’s decision to feign madness and assume the role of the clown in order to secretly investigate the circumstances of his father’s death proves to be a dangerous move as his uncle is Machiavellian. The comic scenes in which Hamlet acts as a clown, serve as relief from the mounting tension of the impending tragedy. In conveying their themes, both clown/jester stage characters provoke humor that serves as a temporary veil for significant social and political commentary. So while the actions and words of Touchstone and Hamlet sometimes cause a chuckle or create hilarity, the comic scenes serve to bring a greater awareness to audiences of the dangers of Machiavellian leadership, and the importance of sincerity as well as love. | 51 pages
Recommended Citation
Nisbett, Gwendolyn Editha, "Gwendolyn Nisbett" (2016). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 3320.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/3320