• The Muslim world

    From gggg gggg@21:1/5 to All on Wed May 25 21:04:26 2022
    https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-centrality-of-the-muslim-world-to-shakespeare-s-work-57404

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  • From Margaret@21:1/5 to gggg gggg on Thu May 26 00:16:24 2022
    On Thursday, 26 May 2022 at 05:04:27 UTC+1, gggg gggg wrote:
    https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-centrality-of-the-muslim-world-to-shakespeare-s-work-57404

    Massively overstated thesis.

    Of course Shakespeare knew about the Muslim world. Just as he knew about the "Indian" (American) world. He refers to both in equal measure. He lived and worked in England's premier international port after all and his limited knowledge of the world
    elsewhere may indeed have given him a certain perspective on his own society. But the idea that Islam or his attitudes are "central" to his work is just another academic developing tunnel vision with regard to his own specialisation.

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  • From John W Kennedy@21:1/5 to Margaret on Thu May 26 17:59:15 2022
    On 5/26/22 3:16 AM, Margaret wrote:
    On Thursday, 26 May 2022 at 05:04:27 UTC+1, gggg gggg wrote:
    https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-centrality-of-the-muslim-world-to-shakespeare-s-work-57404

    Massively overstated thesis.

    Of course Shakespeare knew about the Muslim world. Just as he knew about the "Indian" (American) world. He refers to both in equal measure. He lived and worked in England's premier international port after all and his limited knowledge of the world
    elsewhere may indeed have given him a certain perspective on his own society. But the idea that Islam or his attitudes are "central" to his work is just another academic developing tunnel vision with regard to his own specialisation.

    ...in Aleppo once,
    Where a malignant and a turban’d Turk
    Beat a Venetian and traduc’d the state,
    I took by th’ throat the circumcised dog,
    And smote him—thus.

    Honestly, I think it more likely that Othello is at least a
    second-generation Christian. He cheers from the Christian stands even
    with no Moslem rivals to hear him.

    --
    John W. Kennedy
    Algernon Burbage, Lord Roderick, Father Martin, Bishop Baldwin,
    King Pellinore, Captain Bailey, Merlin -- A Kingdom for a Stage!

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