A Research On "Title" And "Essence" Of The Kingship In Shakespeare's History Plays

Shakespeare is a literary giant both in the history of English literature and in the whole world.The extraordinary talent was revealed in the creation of his Shakespearean plays,such as the history plays mentioned in the thesis.The history plays mentioned in the thesis do not refer to Shakespearean plays that derived from the history or contain some historical content,but refer to his plays based on English history,led by real historical figures and described the true historical events.Even these history plays are slightly different through artistic polishing,the Shakespearean history plays reflect the history to a great extent.The theory applied in the thesis is the theory of "Title" and "Essence".The theory of "Title" and "Essence" comes from the category of ancient Chinese philosophy."Title" refers to the name and concept while "Essence" refers to the actual existence of things.The thesis studies "Title" and "Essence" of kingship in Shakespeare's history plays through the combination of Chinese classical theory and western famous literary works.The author surveys the evolvement process of kings in chronological order with a use of documentary analysis;then interdisciplinary research is adopted to combine the study of literature and politics.The author considers Shakespeare's history plays as some kind of history memory instead of simple literary works in order to explore"Title" and "Essence" of every king and their kingship;finally,qualitative research is adopted to explore the causes and significance of the kingship's evolvement between"Title" and "Essence".The major results are:"Title" is determined by "Essence",the supreme power of kings only come into force upon their ability of performing the duty of kings.In a word,the study of "Title" and "Essence" of the kingship in Shakespeare's history plays illustrates the idea that "Title" is determined by "Essence" in ancient China.Whereas,the evolvement of kingship between "Title" and "Essence" is determined by economy and social background.The thesis also explores the profound humanism in Shakespeare's history plays through the study of "Title" and "Essence" of kingship.