Report
Celebrating Shakespeare . . .
Almost 400 years after his death the works of Shakespeare show little sign of losing their popularity. Rather the reverse, perhaps, in a year when he is repeatedly both re-written and performed in his original state for television and radio, and produced in his entirety by the RSC at Stratford, with a variety of movies in a variety of costumes and periods. Love him or hate him, it seems Shakespeare is still inspiring passion and firing debate not only in England and America but all over the world, including Bangladesh. A discussion on the relevance of Shakespeare in today's world is undeniable. A reader or a theatergoer does have to be neither a Bardolater nor a Shakesperoid or buff to have delight and wisdom while enjoying his plays or discussions on him. The Department of English and Humanities (DEH) of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) observed the 448th birth anniversary of William Shakespeare on 7 June 2012 with UGC Professor of Dhaka University Dr. Serajul Islam Choudhury as chief guest, and Prof. Imran Rahman, VC, ULAB and Prof Kaiser Haq of DEH as special guests. Prof Mohit Ul Alam, Head of DEH, presided over the inaugural session and Prof Golam Sarwar Chowdhury of DEH gave the vote of thanks. Nasrin Islam, Senior Lecturer of DEH, conducted the program. At the end of the inaugural session, Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury inaugurated an exhibition on Shakespeare's life and works and also unwrapped five volumes of critical essays, written in recent decades by prominent Shakespeare scholars and academics and published in high-profile American and British literary journals. These volumes were compiled by Prof Mohit Ul Alam, and are preserved in ULAB library in the expectation that students and Shakespeare scholars in Bangladesh will find them useful. Prof Mohit Ul Alam in his welcoming speech explained the reasons as to why Shakespeare should be studied in Bangladesh. Speaking about Shakespeare's use of history, Prof Alam showed how his treatment of rivalry between King Richard II and Prince Bolingbroke (future King Henry IV) for the English throne can also be used as a palimpsest to understand the confrontational nature of politics in Bangladesh Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury began with the perennial debate of conflict arising out of property in all ages. He mentioned Macbeth and Merchant of Venice in dealing with property themes in particular. In King Lear, Shakespeare shows that it is wrong to claim ownership of landed property as one's own. One may be king, but one's authority cannot be absolute without property as well. In this play Shakespeare perceives that any act of authorization is finally bound to be reduced to a democratic level, otherwise power cannot be a sustained affair. The conflict with property troubles Hamlet as he is deprived of his kingdom. But his two other friends, Fortribras and Laertes, handle them better as Hamlet is different from Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, Laertes or Fortrinbras because he is a man with a philosophic mind. Choudhury also apprised the audience of the fact that it is the quintessential human element that Shakespeare has continuously focused on and that will again and again take us all back to the Bard. Prof Imran Rahman informed the audience that ULAB English Department had been observing the Bard's birth anniversary every year. He also thanked Prof Mohit for finely bringing out the five volumes of Shakespeare critical anthology. He also thanked Naila Azad for directing the staging of the scenes from Shakespeare's plays. Prof Kaiser Haq pointed out that Shakespeare was popular in his time for his human aspects and he is so even today. In pursuing Shakespeare studies, we have to be careful not to turn our excessive passion for Shakespeare into bardolatry, he opined, however out of context it was. Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the 19th century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". Moreover, it may be clarified here that bardolatry is a term that refers to the excessive adulation of William Shakespeare, a portmanteau of "bard" and "idolatry." Shakespeare has been known as "the Bard" since the nineteenth century. One who idolizes Shakespeare is known as a Bardolater. Though Shaw might have wished to de-mythologise Shakespeare here, we are also not unaware of his jealous invectives against him. In the 20th century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world. William Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. Traditionally, the 38 plays are divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being continually performed all around the world. His characters and stories reveal universal truths about the human condition in a way we can all relate to; whether it is the tragic outcome of unchecked greed and ambition, an unrelenting desire for revenge, or the pursuit of love. His representation of human nature is just as real and as relevant today, as it has been through the centuries. The last part of the event constituted the staging of seven scenes from six of Shakespeare's plays such as The Merchant of Venice(Act-1;Scene-2),The Taming of the Shrew(Act2;Scene-1), A Midsummer Night's Dream(Act-3, Scene-1), Othello(Act-4;Scene 2), Macbeth(Act-1; Scene-3 and Act-5; Scene-1) and King Lear(Act-1, Scene1). The performance was excellent, and done by students of DEH, and brilliantly directed by Naila Azad Nupur, a prominent film and stage personality, who lives abroad, but is now back in the country. Naila's was a daunting task because all the actors are undergraduate girl students and amateur actresses like Nakia Suktana in the role of Desdemona, Saima Akter in the role of Lady Macbeth to mention a few. Their costume, stage-setting, dialogue throwing in front of the urbane audience was wonderful and praiseworthy. To highlight on the performance on random sampling basis, we choose Macbeth here. The Three Witches usually known as 'weird sisters' first appear in Act 1.1(not in the performance) where they agree to meet later with Macbeth. The witches' lines in the first act: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air" are often said to set the tone for the remainder of the play by establishing a sense of moral confusion. In 1.3, they (astonishingly performed by Bushra, Rabia and Aklima) greet Macbeth with a prophecy that he shall be king, and his companion, Banquo, with a prophecy that he shall generate a line of kings. The prophecies have a great impact upon Macbeth and thus he utters, 'So foul and fair a day I have never seen', setting the themes of ambition and good and evil. Though only seven scenes were performed on stage, yet the strutting and fretting of King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Portia, Kent, Puck, Titania, Bottom, Desdemona, Cordelia, Goneril, Regan and Katherina evoked an enchanting aura of Shakespearean theatre that evening. The Mechanicals led by exuberant and at one stage, transformed into an ass, Nick Bottom appeared on stage to perform Pyramus and Thisby were as lovable as the amateur artists. Humour is a key element in all of Shakespeare's plays and they all succeeded in imparting so. Shakespeare stands the test of time because his plays are universal. That is the issues and situations in the plays relate to many issues and concerns faced today. Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. Traditionally, the 38 plays are divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being continually performed all around the world. His characters and stories reveal universal truths about the human condition in a way we can all relate to; whether it is the tragic outcome of unchecked greed and ambition, an unrelenting desire for revenge, or the pursuit of love. His representation of human nature is just as real and as relevant today, as it has been through the centuries. People who wonder what makes Shakespeare relevant might want to consider that many common phrases, from "primrose path" or "doctrine of ill- doing" to "all's well that ends well," come from Shakespeare's works. In fine, we will eagerly wait for variegated celebrations of Shakespeare Anniversaries by ULAB in the future years too.
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