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TOWARDSAEUROPEANHISTORYOF
HENRYV
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EnlisantlesdeuxversionsdelapiècedeMillot,j’aieul’idéed’écrireunepiècesurlabataille
d’Azincourt.Elles’intituleHenryVetvouslatrouverezdanstouteslesbonneslibrairies.
WilliamShakespeare
ReadingthetwoversionsoftheplaybyMillot,Ihadtheideaofwritingaplayaboutthebat-
tleofAzincourt.ItisentitledHenryVandisavailablefromallgoodbookshops.
WilliamShakespeare
Theprefacetothegraphicnovelaboutthebattle(publishedin2001)statedthat
withregardtoourmemoryofAzincourt,“Onsongebiensûrausplendiderelaisjoué
parShakespeare”[orig.“OnbothsidesoftheChannel,thenameofAzincourthasbe-
comeimmortalized,certainlyasaresultofShakespeare'ssplendidplay”].Intheyear
2005,PyMillotreversesthesequence:itwastheFrenchpredicamentthatinspired
Shakespeare,nottheotherwayaround.Anditisatmomentslikethese,onerealizes
thatasEuropeanShakespeareanswemaysetouttostudythemultipleformsofappro-
priationofShakespeareinEurope,onlytoproblematicallyfindthatitwasalsoShake-
spearewho(likeHenryV)appropriatedEurope.
Conclusion
Inthispaper,Ihavearguedthatwe,as“EuropeanShakespeareans”mustatalltimes
remindourselvesthatacertainShakespeareantopic,beitinthefieldoftranslation,
production,theory,orpopularculture,isnotautomaticallya“EuropeanShakespeare”
topicsimplybecauseithappenstoaddressamanifestationofShakespeareinEurope.It
ismyfirmbeliefthat“EuropeanShakespeare”shouldnotbeanantiquariansociety
pursuingasitsmainresearchthemesomethinglike:“OnceuponatimeinEurope...”.
Foranytopictodeservethe“EuropeanShakespeare”stampitshouldpresent,to
acertainextentanyway,anoccasiontoreflectonthenatureoftheresearchitself,and
positionitselfwithinthelargeracademicfield.
Inthispaper,Ihopetohaverealizedsomeoftheseambitions.Ihavetried,via
acomparativeapproach,todescribeaShakespeareanresponsetoaseriesofrecent
politicalevents.Indoingso,Ihavetriedtobringintofocusresponsesthatmayfairly
bedescribedasAmericanorEuropean.Naturally,astheroleofBritaininallthisre-
veals,itwouldbeunwisetoexpectaclear-cutdivision,butitisequallyobviousthat
Britain’sroleintheIraqiconflictalsoservestomakeitsspecificallyEuropean,or,
rather,continentalEuropeantenor,standoutallthemoreclearly.
Ifanything,acomparative,cross-AtlanticreadingofShakespeare’sHenryVbrings
totheforeanumberofcracksintheEuropeanideal.Oneoftheproblemsweseeis
relatedtowhatOlivierDuhamelwritesintheprefacetohisanthologyoftheEuropean
Constitution,wherehestatesthat:“L’Europeunieenterrelaguerre”[AUnitedEurope
buriesthehatchet,wishestorelegatewartothepast].
36
36LaConstitutionEuropéenne.LesprincipauxtextesprésentéesparO.Duhamel,Paris:EditionsDalloz
&ArmandColin,2005,v.
