A Study On Shakespearean Drama And Festive Culture

This topic devotes to pursuing the relationship between creation and spreading of Shakespearean drama and festive culture. Through the relationship, it attempts to explore the social cultural implication of Shakespearean drama, seize the original writing techniques, so as to explain that the absorption of Shakespearean drama out of festive culture not only highlights characteristics of its time and national qualities, but also improves its artistic radical force and strengthens its artistic expressive function and individual character. It is a new point of view for studying Shakespeare and his time, and discovering the cultural significance and artistic value of Shakespearean drama. It is my wish if this research project can fill up some blanks of "the Shakespearean study" which is already full of masterpieces and difficult to add something new.This paper falls into five chapters.The first chapter analyses festivals of the Elizabethan age, which unfolds itself from three aspects, namely, formation and classification of festivals of the Elizabethan age and their cultural connotations, functions and characteristics. This chapter starts with new changes of calendars of the Elizabethan age and its relationship with festivals, classifies festivals of this age, expounds functions and characteristics of festivals of the Elizabethan age from such aspects as the relationship between festivals and common people's life, festivals and maintenance of imperial power and festivals and the rise of the emerging bourgeoisie and finally concludes that festivals promote and inspire dramatic activities of that time.The second chapter deals with the absorption of Shakespearean drama out of festive culture, which can be divided into two parts:festive culture in Shakespearean drama and main features of description of those festivals. Firstly, it classifies and sorts out all the festivals in Shakespearean drama, then probes into such main festivals as May Day and masquerades, which are described with heavy strokes in those plays, and analyses festive events in different sorts of plays; and finally, it summarizes main features of description of those festivals in Shakespearean drama, such as disorder of festive time, mixture of weddings and funerals, accompanying of witches, monsters, ghosts and gods, coincidence of life and death, and so on.The third chapter discusses about the relationship between festive description and aesthetic forms of Shakespearean drama, analyzing from the four categories of tragedy, comedy, history and romance respectively, and exploring the relationship between different aesthetic forms of Shakespearean drama and festive culture so as to explain how Shakespeare casts different festive culture into different aesthetic objects, creates different aesthetic forms and analyzes influence of different festive culture on different character types and style characteristics.The fourth chapter deals with artistic functions of festive description in Shakespearean drama. It can be divided into three parts:festive description and metaphors and symbols in Shakespearean drama, festive description and plot construction in Shakespearean drama, festive description and acting art in Shakespearean drama. Most festive banquets, singing and dancing and wine are provided with metaphors and symbolic meanings in Shakespearean drama. Festive culture becomes important resource of plot construction. In those plays, some festivals turn into vehicles of punishment and torment, ignitors of usurpation and slaughter houses of ruthless killing. Festive description and acting art reach perfect integration in Shakespearean drama which promotes development of acting art in Shakespearean drama.The fifth chapter deals with festive culture and spreading of Shakespearean drama. It is divided into two parts, namely festive culture and spreading of Shakespearean drama in the Elizabethan age, and festive culture and spreading of Shakespearean drama in the after-Shakespearean age. It first analyzes sound progress of mutual promotion of festive culture and Shakespearean drama in the Elizabethan age, and then discusses the deep origin between festive culture, Shakespearean drama and royal families and nobles, and the indissoluble bond between festive culture, Shakespearean drama and plain citizens. As to festive culture and spreading and canonization of Shakespearean drama in the after-Shakespearean age, it analyzes from different regions, discussing different influences of festive culture in European and American countries and Asian countries of spreading and canonization of Shakespearean drama respectively.This topic puts the point of strength on exploring the internal and interactive relation between festive culture and Shakespearean drama, overcoming the malpractice of simple enumeration and comparison of festive events and dramatic description; it regards festive culture as one of the social cultures in specific times, pays special attention to exploring the featured social historical and cultural meaning; while expounding social and cultural implication of Shakespearean drama, it focuses on discussing the relationship between festive culture and artistic presentation of Shakespearean drama so as to avoid the mistake of "using text to prove history".