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PREFACE
projectofSHINE,tookplaceinKrakowinNovember2005,andwasnotonlyanop-
portunitytomeetandexchangeideas,tradeknowledgeandexperience,butalsodis-
cussworkinprogressinordertodiscoverhowfarweagreeanddisagree.Thedoor
wasopenedwidetohostallthoseinterestedinanintenseintellectualexchangeonthe
issuesofhistoryandmemoryinShakespeareresearchandcriticismrelatedtoEurope.
Thepresentvolumeisthefinalproductoftheproject.Itcontainsoriginaland
stimulatingessaysbytwenty-fourscholarsfromtwelvecountries.Theserestonavar-
ietyoftheoreticalandmethodologicalassumptions,andexplorearichrangeofthe
phenomenawechoosetogroupunderthebannerof“ShakespeareinEurope.”And
theyallreflect(thoughwithoutattemptingtoanswer)thedauntingquestionsofwhat
historyisandwhatwedowithit.TonHoenselaars’paper“TowardsaEuropeanHis-
toryofHenryVwasselectedbytheeditorsasaproperintroductiontotheproject,for
itnotonlyremembersthe(hi)storyoftheseriesofprojectsof“Shakespearein
Europe,”butalsoproblematisestheresearch,andexemplifiestheissuesofhistoryand
memoryintheirtemporal,spacialandpoliticalaspects,referringtoShakespeare’s
historiesandEuropeanhistory(histories),totextandtheatre,andtotheoperationsof
socialmemoryinrespectoftheculturalhistoryinthemodernworld.
Thepapersaregroupedintofivesectionsreflectingthemainpreoccupationofthe
researchers.HistoryandHistoriescontainsstudiesaimingatRenaissancecontextuali-
sation:thesepapersuncoverawebofEuropeanthoughtwhichgalvanisesShake-
speare’stextsandilluminatesinterpretationsbothfromhistimesandours.History
andMemory:CriticismandReceptioncontainsthreeessaysthatdemonstrateways
inwhichShakespeare’stextsbecameinvolvedintheculturalhistoryof,respectively,
RomanticEngland,nineteenth-centurySpain,andModernistPoland.Suchreflections
onthehistoryofShakespeare’sreceptioninEuropeshouldencouragenewstudiesin
comparativeresearch.TheclosingessayareviewofEnglishModernistcriticismis
afinestudyofthepastcriticismleadinginevitablytothecritiqueoftheterm“unified
culturalsphere”andtyinguppastideasandideologies.History,Memory,andIdeo-
logicalAppropriationcontainsstudieswhichcontextualisenotonlypastandpresent,
butalsothenational,politicalandideologicalperspectives,seekingtoenlightenusas
weappropriateShakespeareantexts.Theyalsotellusmuchabouttheprocessesof
metamorphosingourconsciousnessofthepresentintothatofthepast,withShake-
speareasthecentralframeofreference.Thelastsection,Theatre:theActofMemory
andHistoryintheMaking,isdevotedtotheatricalcriticim.Thestrikingfeatureof
thefirstfourpapersistheevidenceofhowpresentexperienceinevitablyinformspro-
ductionsandtheirreception,alsotheextenttowhichShakespeare’svariousroles,as
historian,poet,andplaywrighteachcontributetodeeperunderstandingofthatexpe-
rience.Thissection,andthewholevolume,isclosedwithanessaybyJerzyLimon
who,demonstratinghisexpertiseintheatrehistory,offersafascinatingperspectiveinto
thefuturewhereweexpecttoseeanewtheatreinDanzig(Gdańsk)thatwillcomple-
menttheworkofShakespeare’sGlobeTheatreinLondonbyteachingusexperientially
aboutbothtextsinproductionsandtheformsofearlymodernplaying.Atthesame
time,theboldmoderndesignofthenewbuildingwillallowforfreedomofartistic
creationthatshouldbindthepastwiththepresent.