> Dare I ask what Spenser would have thought about George
the Lion-Hearted's crusade against this latter-day
Souldan-Gerioneo-Grantorto?
I've just come from a seminar looking at the deposition
scene in Richard II, an early debate on the legitimacy and
mechanics of regime change (and, incidentally, a wonderful
scene for exploring speech-act theory in literature: what
are the conditions that will render Richard's 'abdication'
felicitous in Austin's terms?) Parallels with the current
world situation couldn't help but offer themselves. In
particular, the current British proposal to get Saddam
Hussein to demonstrate his compliance publicly (I forget
the details, but I think he has to go on television in a
Captain Hook costume and say 'I'm a codfish') sprang to
several students' minds when they read of about
Northumberland demanding Richard list his crimes to the
Commons.
In the end the debate got rather off-topic, and I had to
finish it 10 minutes late with a cry of 'That'll teach me
to make Shakespeare relevant to real life!'
Charlie Butler
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Butler, Charles
Email: [log in to unmask]
"University of the West of England"
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