Thesis (Selection of subject)

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Anatomy of villainy: the concept of an antagonist in tragedies and histories of William Shakespeare

Thesis title in Czech:	Anatomie padoušství: pojetí antagonisty v tragédiích a historických hrách Williama Shakespeara
Thesis title in English:	Anatomy of villainy: the concept of an antagonist in tragedies and histories of William Shakespeare
Key words:	William Shakespeare, Frank Raymond Leavis, renesance, Othello, Richard III., padoušství, identita
English key words:	William Shakespeare, Frank Raymond Leavis, Renaissance, Othello; Richard III, villainy; identity
Academic year of topic announcement:	2009/2010
Thesis type:	Bachelor's thesis
Thesis language:	angličtina
Department:	Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (21-UALK)
Supervisor:	prof. PhDr. Martin Hilský, CSc.
Author:	hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
Date of registration:	09.11.2010
Date of assignment:	09.11.2010
Administrator's approval:	not processed yet
Confirmed by Study dept. on:	18.08.2011
Date and time of defence:	12.09.2011 00:00
Date of electronic submission:	22.08.2011
Date of proceeded defence:	12.09.2011
Submitted/finalized:	committed by student and finalized
Opponents:	PhDr. Soňa Nováková, CSc.

Guidelines

The aim of the thesis is to examine the phenomenon of villains in William Shakespeare's selected tragedies and histories. The theme will be pursued at two levels: as a global overview of the main antagonists in the dramas of the determined genres, and as the analysis closely focused on two selected characters. A general analysis covering the most prominent antagonists of the discussed genres will be outlined to identify tendencies and shifts in Shakespeare's portrayal. In the second part, the concept of the "diabolic intellect" as a special type of a Shakespearean villain will be developed. It is based on a critical theory by F. R. Leavis which will be further specified and applied to the characters of Iago and Richard III. Despite having origins in different Shakespeare's dramas, both characters represent the same type of intelligent evil. They will be compared and contrasted by examination of such aspects as, for instance, their position within the framework of the play or the way they influence the community and, simultaneously, by whom and what they themselves are influenced.

References

Primary Sources
Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI, Part 2, ed. by Ronald Knowles. London: Methuen Drama, 2001.
Shakespeare, William. King Henry VI, Part 3, ed. by John D. Cox and Eric Rasmussen. London: Methuen Drama, 2001.
Shakespeare, William. King Richard III, ed. by James R. Siemon. London: Methuen Drama, 2009.
Shakespeare, William. Othello, benátský mouřenín/Othello, The Moor of Venice. Translated by Martin Hilský. Brno: Atlantis, 2006.

Secondary Sources
Besnault, Marie-Hélene and Michel Bitot. “Historical Legacy and Fiction: Richard III”. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare’s History Plays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Bradley, A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy. London: Macmillian, 1992.
Bloom, Harold. “An Essay by Harold Bloom”. Othello. Ed. William Raffel et al. Yale University Press: New Haven, 2005. 205-258.
--- “Miltonův Satan a Shakespeare”. Kánon západní literatury: Knihy, které prošly zkouškou věků. Translation by Ladislav Nagy and Martin Pokorný, Praha: Prostor, 2000.
Coleridge, C. S. “Othello”. Shakespeare Criticism: A Selection. London: Oxford University Press, 1946. 266-272.
Hazzlit, William. “Othello”. Shakespeare Criticism: A Selection. London: Oxford University Press, 1946. 282-287.
Heilman, Robert. Magic in the Web: Action and Language in Othello. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1956.
Heyl, Bernard. “The Absolutism of F. R. Leavis”. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Dec. 1954: 249-255.
Hilský, Martin. Shakespeare a jeviště svět. Praha: Academia, 2011.
Hughes, Merritt Y. “A Meditation on Literary Blasphemy”. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Sept. 1955: 106-115.
Kirschbaum, Leo. “The Modern Othello”. EHL Dec. 1944: 283-296.
Knight, G. Wilson. The Wheel of Fire. Cleveland: Meridian Books, 1949.
Leavis, F. R. “Diabolic Intellect and the Noble Hero: Or The Sentimentalist’s Othello”. The Common Pursuit. London: Chatto & Windus, 1953.
Lull, Janis. “Plantagenets, Lancastrians, Yorkists and Tudors”. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare’s History Plays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Magnusson, Lynne. “‘Voice Potential’: Language and Symbolic Capital in Othello”. Shakespeare and Language. ed. Catherine M. S. Alexander. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
McNeir, Waldo F. “The Masks of Richard the Third,” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 Spring 1971: 167-186.
Rosenberg, Marvin. “In Defense of Iago“. Shakespeare Quarterly, Spring 1955: 145-158.
Rossiter, A. P. Angel with Horns. New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1961.
Stříbrný, Zdeněk. Shakespearovy historické hry. Nakladatelství Československé akademie věd: Praha, 1959.
Stoll, Elmer Edgar. “Criminal in Shakespeare and in Science”. Modern Philology July1912: 55-80.
--- “Heroes and Villains: Shakespeare, Middleton, Byron, Dickens“. The Review of English Studies July 1942: 257-269.
Walton, J. K. “‘Strenght’s Abundance’: A View of Othello.” The Review of English Studies Feb. 1960: 8-17.
Zender, Karl F. “The Humiliation of Iago”. Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 Spring 1994: 323-339.

Electronic Sources
Hobbes, Thomas. De Cive. 1651. 8 Aug. 2011 <http://www.constitution.org/th/decive00.htm>
Swinburne, Algernon. A Study of Shakespeare. Project Gutenberg. 8 Aug. 2011 <http://www.archive.org/stream/astudyofshakespe16412gut/16412.txt>