Alternate Title
Political dissent in Grigory Kozintsev's Shakespeare
Advisor(s)
Harlow L. Robinson
Contributor(s)
Marina A. Leslie, Inez Hedges (1947-)
Date of Award
2009
Date Accepted
11-2009
Degree Grantor
Northeastern University
Degree Level
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department or Academic Unit
College of Arts and Sciences. Department of English.
Keywords
English, Grigory Kozintsev, Hamlet, King Lear, Shakespeare, Soviet Film
Subject Categories
Shakespeare (William (1564-1616))--Adaptations--History and criticism, Shakespeare (William (1564-1616))--Film adaptations--History and criticism, Shakespeare (William (1564-1616))--Appreciation--Foreign countries, Shakespeare (William (1564-1616))--Film adaptations--Foreign countries
Abstract
This project is a study of Shakespeare in Russia and the Soviet Union that pays special attention to the works of scholar, filmmaker and theater practitioner Grigory Kozintsev. The central purpose of this investigation is to present a narrative of the role of Shakespeare in Russian and Soviet arts and letters from the 18th to 20th centuries, which emphasizes the ways in which artists, translators and critics have used Shakespeare's plays as a means of responding to their cultural and political situations, often in a critical or subversive manner. Kozintsev's theatrical and film versions of Hamlet and King Lear, as well as his books on Shakespeare, use the plays' themes and imagery to comment upon the negative effects of Stalinist tyranny and other pressing problems in Soviet life, which could not be spoken about explicitly in a public forum for risk of censure, imprisonment, exile and even death. Shakespeare's works provided a "screen" from Tsarist or Party censorship, enabling artists to allude covertly to contemporary troubles that would have otherwise been forbidden topics.
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights Information
Copyright 2009
Rights Holder
Tiffany Ann Conroy
Permanent URL
Recommended Citation
Conroy, Tiffany Ann, ""Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say" : political dissent in Grigory Kozintsev's Shakespeare" (2009). English Dissertations. Paper 5. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000054