Shakespeare's three political tragedies Hamlet, Macbeth, and King
Lear have numerously been presented or adapted on film. These three
plays all involve the recurring trope of madness, which, as
constructed by Shakespeare, provided a wider canvas on which to
detail those materials that could not be otherwise expressed:
sexual desire and expectation, political unrest, and, ultimately,
truth, as excavated by characters so afflicted. Music has long been
associated with madness, and was often used as an audible symptom
of a victim's disassociation from their surroundings and societal
rules, as well as their loss of self-control. In Shakespeare,
Madness, and Music: Scoring Insanity in Cinematic Adaptations,
Kendra Preston Leonard examines the use of music in Hamlet,
Macbeth, and King Lear. Whether discussing contemporary source
materials, such as songs, verses, or rhymes specified by
Shakespeare in his plays, or music composed specifically for a film
and original to the director's or composer's interpretations,
Leonard shows how the changing social and scholarly attitudes
towards the plays, their characters, and the conditions that fall
under the general catch-all of "madness" have led to a wide range
of musical accompaniments, signifiers, and incarnations of the
afflictions displayed by Shakespeare's characters. Focusing on the
most widely distributed and viewed adaptations of these plays for
the cinema, each chapter presents the musical treatment of
individual Shakespearean characters afflicted with or feigning
madness: Hamlet, Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, King Lear, and Edgar. The
book offers analysis and interpretation of the music used to
underscore, belie, or otherwise inform or invoke the characters'
states of mind, providing a fascinating indication of culture and
society, as well as the thoughts and ideas of individual directors,
composers, and actors. A bibliography, index, and appendix listing
Shakespeare's film adaptations help complete this fascinating
volume.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
