A Study Of Wine Culture And Nationality In Shakespeare's Plays

William Shakespeare(1564-1616)is an English poet,playwright,and actor,widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's prominent dramatist.He is often called the England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"(Dobson,1992:185-186).Shakespeare's plays contain plenty of writing about wine culture,especially in shaping the image of Falstaff,the drunkard.Sir John Falstaff is mentioned in four plays by William Shakespeare:Henry ?,Part ? and Part 2.Henry V,and The Merry Wives of Windsor.The lines of Falstaff alone account for 20%in Henry ?.The character was so popular that was well received by the audience and even Queen Elizabeth.For many years,scholars at home and abroad have done a lot of researches on the image and identity of Falstaff,however,few scholars have done a deeper research that combined the comic character Falstaff,the background of the wine culture in English society and the English nationality together.Wine culture is such an important element in the cultural background of England during Shakespeare's time that cannot be overlooked for it has helped to shape the"Englishness".In other words the wine culture is an essential part of English nationality.The purpose of this thesis is to make a study of wine culture and nationality in Shakespeare's plays,to analyze the national character of drinking between early modern English,and to make a more profound interpretation of the English social culture and its national features at that time.Through the secular writing in his plays.Shakespeare not only reflects his humanistic thoughts in the admiration of humanism,but also in the speculation of humanistic morality.Wine culture as an indispensable part of his secular writing also reflects the speculation.Shakespeare sees every aspects of national development through it.and finds the contradiction between humanism ideal and social reality.Given that.this thesis taking Falstaff as the analysis object for his wine affection reveals the national characters and problems under the background of wine culture during the Elizabethan Age.By means of the literary criticism of New historicism,the thesis tries to restore the social style and features at that time.The whole thesis is composed of six chapters.In the first chapter,the thesis gives an introduction of Shakespeare and Falstaff.Then,according to the general review of the research on Falstaff at home and abroad,there will be a statement about the purpose and significance of the study.In the second chapter,the thesis provides an introduction of the cultural background of wine in Shakespeare's plays which covers the cultural background of the Renaissance and the humanism in the Elizabethan period as well as the definition of wine.Then it gives a general view of the Shakespeare's humanistic thought through his narration of wine culture in the plays.In the third chapter,the thesis lays emphasis on the analysis of the new nationality during the Elizabethan age which includes the definition of nationality and the Elizabethan national ideology in Shakespeare's plays.Based on the above,this chapter also explains the relationship between nationality and wine culture in these plays.In the fourth chapter,the thesis focuses on Falstaff and wine,including the image of Falstaff his attachment to wine and the problems raised by his drinking habit.In the fifth chapter,the thesis analyzes Falstaff and nationality.Falstaffs image possesses a symbolic meaning of English nationality.Shakespeare expresses his own anxiety about the English nationality under the background of humanism through the Writing of Falstaff's bad choices.In the fourth and fifth chapters,this thesis aims to reveal both the positive significance and the negative significance of Falstaff's drinking behavior.According to the analyses above,this thesis comes to the conclusion(in the sixth chapter).The analyses of Falstaff s personality and his drinking behavior could provide a more detailed and comprehensive interpretation of wine culture and nationality.The study of wine culture and nationality in Shakespeare's plays will give people a new perspective of Shakespeare's humanistic morality.