Charlie, to switch the subject and get back to old texts, you might
rephrase your research question this way: what are the conditions
that will render Richard's abdication (no quotes) felicitous in
Richard's terms. Austin could have done wonders with such
illocutionary pretzels as "here, cousin, seize the crown." Wouldn't
be a bad move for S. Hussein to put on the infelicitous Gorgeous
George, either. I promise you that.
> 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
>
>----------------------------------------
>Butler, Charles
>Email: [log in to unmask]
>"University of the West of England"
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