AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 6, Number 4. October 2022 Pp. 2-14
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol6no4.1
The Structure of Laughter in Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV
Paul Innes
Department of Languages and Literature
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
United Arab Emirates University
Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
paul.innes@uaeu.ac.ae
Received: 08 /31 /2022 Accepted: 10/04 /2022 Published: 10/24/2022
Abstract:
Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV (c.1597) is the second play in a group of four that deals with the first two Lancastrian kings of England, Henry IV and his son Henry V. This loosely connected series is known as the Second Tetralogy because even though the events portrayed precede the four plays that deal with Henry VI and Richard III, Shakespeare wrote those set earlier in English history a little later in his career. The main aim of this study is to investigate the carnivalesque in 1 Henry IV, understood as a layer of unofficial or popular culture that plays against and undercuts or inverts the official world of the court, high politics, and chivalry. The significance of this study lies in its analysis of how this interaction structures the play; these are not just surface features. The main question is how the carnivalesque affects the level of high politics in the play. The context for the study derives from critical approaches to the play that have been influenced by critical theory, especially in the carnivalesque; the procedure is a detailed qualitative analysis using techniques of textual criticism. The main finding is that the play is not only structured along these lines but also that the level of high official culture is itself put in question by a full awareness of the historical events mentioned in the play.
Keywords: Aristotle, carnivalesque, chivalry, grotesque, ideology, laughter, performance, Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, structure
Cite as: Innes, P. (2022). The Structure of Laughter in Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies 6 4)2-14.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol6no4.1
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