A Bakhtinian Study Of Shakespeare's Three Romances–The Winter's Tale,Cymbeline,and The Tempest

Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright,widely regarded as the greatest writer in European Renaissance and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.His romances have always been controversial since people started to pay attention to Shakespeare's dramas.Critics have discussed his romances from almost all aspects,however,among which,few scholars have really realized the carnival spirits in these romances and therefore failed to dig out their hidden meanings.The thesis purports to make a Bakhtinian study of the carnival features in Shakespeare's three main romances – The Winter's Tale,Cymbeline,and The Tempest.In so doing,the thesis argues that carnival elements in Shakespeare's romances are indispensable for him to demonstrate his Renaissance-humanist zeitgeist against medieval oppressions of man.Structurally,there are three parts in this thesis,viz,the introduction,the body and the conclusion.The introduction part provides information about Shakespeare,literature review of The Winter's Tale,Cymbeline,and The Tempest,and a brief introduction to Bakhtin's theory of carnivalization.The second part,as the body part,is composed of three chapters: chapter one is to discuss the marketplace language in these three romances from aspects of praise and abuse.Chapter two analyzes the frequent crowning and uncrowning in those romances by focusing on the images of king and clown.And chapter three concentrates on the grotesque body and the important resurrection plots in those romances.Finally,on the basis of previous analyses,it intends to conclude that Shakespeare's these three romances are permeated with carnival elements,which are powerful tools for him to demonstrate his Renaissance-humanist spirit against medieval oppressions of man.