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TONHOENSELAARS
TheUniversityofUtrecht
TOWARDSAEUROPEANHISTORY
OF
HENRYV
EuropeanShakespeare:FifteenYearsOn
Forsometimenow,“EuropeanShakespeare”hasbeenawingèdphrase,andtheregu-
larsequenceofconferencesdevotedtothistopicforoveradecadenow,testifiestothe
energythattheconceptcontinuestoinspire.
1Anumberofyearsago,itwasdecided
nottochannelthe“EuropeanShakespeare”enthusiasmviaaformalorbureaucratic
societywithlegalstatus.Itwasdecidedthatwewouldbeorganisingconferencesevery
twoyearsifwefelttheinspirationandtheneedtocometogether,andtopublishour
worktogether.Andiftheincentivewastobenolongerfeltbyus,thiswouldautomati-
callymeanthenaturalendof“EuropeanShakespeare.”Therewouldbenoneedor
dutytokeepitalivebyartificialmeans.Hence,oneisgladtonotethatthe2005Kra-
kowconference,withsomanyparticipantsfromallovertheworld,isstillthebest
evidenceofcontinuingifnotgrowingenthusiasmfor“EuropeanShakespeare.”
“EuropeanShakespeare”wasoriginallyhailedwithenthusiasticpraise,andmany
willrememberPeterHolland’swordsofsupportwhenhestressedtherelevanceof
analyzingtherichanduniquevarietyofShakespeareanappropriationsavailableonthe
continent,ofanalyzing“therichculturesinwhichShakespearespeaks,inwhich,in-
deed,heistheuniquelynecessaryvoice,oftenspeakingwithmanytimestheeloquence
hecurrentlyattainsinEnglish.”
2Inthecourseofthe1990s,encyclopedias,conference
programs,andevenpublishers’serieshavestartedtocasttheirnetseverwidertodo
justicetothephenomenon.“EuropeanShakespeare,”itseems,hasbecomeafederal
forcetoreckonwith.
1Sincetheearly1990s,relevantconferenceshavetakenplaceinAntwerp(1990),Sofia(1993),Murcia
(1999),Basle(2001),Utrecht(2003).
2InareviewthatrecognizedShakespeareintheNewEuropeas“oneofthemostexcitingvolumesin
Shakespeareperformancecriticismtohaveappearedinmanyyears,”TheEuropeanEnglishMessenger
1997,6:2,75–77.
