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Classics
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• Charles and Mary Lambs Tales from Shakespeare
• The complete text is available on various
  websites.

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1. Li, Ruru. The Bard in the Middle Kingdom.
Asian Theatre Journal 12.1 (spring 1995)
50-84. 2. Jorgens, Jack J. Shakespeare on Film.
Lanham, Maryland University Press of America,
1991. 3. Coursen, H. R. Reading Shakespeare on
Stage. Newark University of Delaware Press,
1995. 4. Zhang, Cong and Chong Zhang. Shakespeare
in Visual Age A Study of Shakespeare on Screen.
Beijing Peking UP, 2009. 5. Zhang, Xiao, Yang.
Shakespeare in China A Comparative Study of Two
Traditions and Cultures. NY U of Delaware P,
1996.
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Charles Lamb

• From http//www.online-literature.com/lamb/

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Introduction to the Lambs

• Charles Lamb (1775-1834), English essayist and
  poet, most famous for his collection Essays of
  Elia (1823, 1833). The poem "The Old Familiar
  Faces" and the essay "Dream Children" are among
  his most popular works.

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A Brief Introduction to Charles Lamb

• Lamb was born in London (Feb. 10, 1775). He
  studied at Christ's Hospital.
• He had a lifelong friendship with Samuel Taylor
  Coleridge.
• At the age of 20, Lamb suffered a period of
  insanity.

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A Brief Introduction to Mary Lamb

• Sister of Charles Lamb
• Just like her brother, Mary had similar problems
  of madness.
• In 1796, Mary murdered her mother in madness.
• She was sent to an asylum.
• Mary was eventually released into the care of her
  brother.

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Tales from Shakespeare

• Charles Lamb coauthored with Mary LambTales from
  Shakespeare (1807).
• They also wrote The Adventures Of Ulysses (1808).
• These two books were retellings of classic works
  for children.

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http//shakespeare.palomar.edu/lambtales/LAMBTALE.
HTM

• Preface
• The Tempest
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• The Winter's Tale
• Much Ado About Nothing
• As You Like It
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona
• The Merchant of Venice
• Cymbeline

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• King Lear
• Macbeth
• All's Well That Ends Well
• The Taming of the Shrew
• The Comedy of Errors
• Measure for Measure

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• Twelfth Night or, What You Will
• Timon of Athens
• Romeo and Juliet
• Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
• Othello
• Pericles, Prince of Tyre

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• Lambs Tales from Shakespeare covers 20 plays.
• Shakespeare wrote a total of 37 plays.
• More than half of the plays are covered.

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Twelfth Night Or, What You Will

• William Shakespeare
• The following excerpts are from Charles and Mary
  Lambs Tales from Shakespeare

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Beginning Two Twins

• Sebastian and his sister Viola, a young gentleman
  and lady of Messaline, were twins, and (which was
  accounted a great wonder) from their birth they
  so much resembled each other, that, but for the
  difference in their dress, they could not be
  known apart.

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Shipwreck A New Beginning

• They were both born in one hour, and in one hour
  they were both in danger of perishing, for they
  were shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, as they
  were making a sea-voyage together. The ship, on
  board of which they were, split on a rock in a
  violent storm, and a very small number of the
  ship's company escaped with their lives.

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A Mans Identity for a WomanCross-dress as a
Page

• Then Viola formed another project in her mind,
  which was, in a man's habit, to serve the duke
  Orsino as a page. It was a strange fancy in a
  young lady to put on male attire, and pass for a
  boy but the forlorn and unprotected state of
  Viola, who was young and of uncommon beauty,
  alone, and in a foreign land, must plead her
  excuse.

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Viola loves Orsino

• It is a dangerous matter for young maidens to be
  the confidants of handsome young dukes which
  Viola too soon found to her sorrow, for all that
  Orsino told her he endured for Olivia, she
  presently perceived she suffered for the love of
  him

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Olivia loves Cesario

• When Viola made her second visit to Olivia, she
  found no difficulty in gaining access to her.
  Servants soon discover when their ladies delight
  to converse with handsome young messengers and
  the instant Viola arrived, the gates were thrown
  wide open, and the duke's page was shown into
  Olivia's apartment with great respect and when
  Viola told Olivia that she was come once more to
  plead in her lord's behalf,

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Olivier marries Sebastian

• Though Sebastian was . . . surprised at the
  courtesy of this lady. . ., yet he went very
  willingly into the house, and Olivia was
  delighted to find Cesario (as she thought him)
  become more sensible of her attentions for
  though their features were exactly the same,
  there was none of the contempt and anger to be
  seen in his face, which she had complained of
  when she told her love to Cesario.

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• Viola marries Orsino
• Olivia, perceiving Orsino was making over that
  heart, which she had so ungraciously rejected, to
  Viola, invited them to enter her house, and
  offered the assistance of the good priest, who
  had married her to Sebastian in the morning, to
  perform the same ceremony in the remaining part
  of the day for Orsino and Viola.

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The Ending of Twelfth Night

• Alls Well that Ends Well
• Orsino Viola
• Sebastian Olivia

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A Modern Filmic Adaptation of Twelfth Night Andy
Fickmans Shes the Man (2006)
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The Merchant of Venice

• The play features
• Religious conflict (Jew versus Christian)
• Mercy
• Justice
• Law

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A Pound of Flesh

• A severe penalty for violation of a bond late
  payment of 3,000 ducates
• Jew Shylock (loan shark)
• Antonio (merchant)
• Bassanio (borrows from Shylock)
• Portia

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How Portia Solves Antonios Problem?

• A pound of flesh without a drop of blood

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Shylocks Punishment

• Shylock can not have a pound of flesh form
  Antonio.
• For plotting against the life of a Venetian, his
  money and property are confiscated half goes to
  the state, half goes to Antonio.
• Antonio demands Shylock to become a Christian

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A Brief Review of First Productions of
Shakespeare in China

• The Merchant of Venice is reputed for being the
  first Shakespearean play staged in China.
• Scholars such as Zhang, Shun Jun Cao and Fu Liang
  Sun
• the earliest Shakespearean play in China was
  a production in 1902 of The Merchant of Venice by
  students of the Foreign Language Department of
  Shanghai St. John College (Zhang 110 Cao and Sun
  70).
• The production was in English

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The First Shakespeare Production in Chinese
The Bond of Flesh in 1913 (a production of The
Merchant of Venice) entitled by New Peoples
Society (Xin Min She) in Shanghai (Zhang 110).
This early history shows the important status of
The Merchant of Venice at the beginning of
Shakespeare in China.
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Reproductions of Shakespeares Plays in Taiwan

• Bond (2009) A Bangzi Shakespearean opera.

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Political Background and Foreign Literature

• Cultural revolution and the political
  incorrectness of foreign literature
• Recall what we talked about the reception of
  Freudian interpretation of Hamlet
• Consider the socio-political background of
  Taiwanese society

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Political Background of Bangzi Opera

• The opera came from Henan Province, mainland
  China. The forerunner of the company, Chung Chou
  Troupe, was founded in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam,
  in 1949. It was meant to entertaining and
  encouraging soldiers.
• It was relocated to Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1953.
• It was brought to Taiwan by the Kuo Ming Tang
  Government.
• Governmental support of the opera company became
  a part of the cultural assimilation strategy of
  the Kuo Ming Tang.

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Bond in London

• Two scenes of Bond were presented on September
  11, 2009 at Greenwood Theatre of Kings College,
  London
• It was part of the program of the Fourth British
  Shakespeare Association Conference.

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Reverse Orientalism?

• A critical comment
• Bond seemingly represents reverse Orientalism
  (quoted in Cheng 13).
• Reverse Orientalism versus Orientatlism
• OrientalismEdward Said
• The antagonism between the west and the east.

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Questions to PonderDiscussion 15 minutesChoose
2

• 1. What do you think about the cross-dressing in
  Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice?
• 2. What common denominators do Twelfth Night and
  The Merchant of Venice have?
• 3. What do you think are the most significant
  factors or the most appealing factors in
  Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice?
• 4. Do you think Bond captures the basic spirit of
  The Merchant of Venice?
• 5. What do you think about the staging of Bond in
  London in 2009? What is its cultural implication?
  Do you think it is a kind of reverse-orientalism?