Hamlet's Arab Journey

Margaret Litvin is assistant professor of Arabic and comparative literature at Boston University.

• List of Illustrations ix Preface and Acknowledgments xi Note on Transliteration and Translation xvii Introduction 1 "When Shakespeare Travels Abroad" 3 The Global Kaleidoscope 6 Hamlet and Political Agency 8 Chapter 1: Hamlet in the Daily Discourse of Arab Identity 13 "Time Out of Joint": Coming to Terms with History 16 "Shall We Be or Not Be?": Personifying the Group 23 "Words, Words, Words": Forging an Identity 29 "The Play's the Thing" 33 Chapter 2: Nasser's Dramatic Imagination, 1952-64 35 Revolutionary Drama 37 Theatre Joins the Battle 44 Shakespeare on the Sidelines 50 Chapter 3: The Global Kaleidoscope: How Egyptians Got Their Hamlet, 1901-64 53 Beyond Caliban 54 "Bend Again toward France" 59 "Do It, England!" 70 Independence and Soviet Shakespeare 75 Bidayr's "Cruel Text" 85 Chapter 4: Hamletizing the Arab Muslim Hero, 1964-67 91 In Search of Social Justice 93 Psychological Interiority as a Ground for Political Agency 95 Sulayman: "Justice or Oppression? That Is the Puzzle" 95 Al-Hallaj: "Who Will Give Me a Seeing Sword?" 103 De-Hamletized Revivals 111 Chapter 5: Time Out of Joint, 1967-76 114 "Something Is Rotten": Theatre and the 1967 Defeat 116 M artyrs for Justice: "Abstract and Brief Chronicles" of the 1970s 124 Sadat's Open Door: "To Cook or Not to Cook?" 134 A Dilemma 140 Chapter 6: Six Plays in Search of a Protagonist, 1976-2002 142 Silencing Hamlet 144 "A Play Can't Stab" 147 "His Sword Kept Sticking Up" 163 A Prodigal Cousin 173 Post-Political Laughs 179 Epilogue: Hamlets without Hamlet 183 Notes 189 Bibliography 237 Index 257

"Studying productions of Hamlet across the Arab world, including performances in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria, Litvin draws broad parallels between the struggles of Shakespeare's protagonist and the frustrated political and cultural hopes of Arab intellectuals. Citing an interesting variety of sources--from videos and reviews to scripts and interviews--the author provides a new perspective on how Shakespearean drama has been appropriated in various international and political contexts."--Choice "An exceptional work that crosses many disciplinary boundaries, Margaret Litvin's Hamlet's Arab Journey not only provides a new approach to the study of international Shakespeare appropriation, but also promises an engaging and narrative-rich point of access to the operations of Arab cultural and political identities."--Lobna Ismail, Theatre Research International "Remarkable and deserving of particular mention, Margaret Litvin's monograph Hamlet's Arab Journey presents far-reaching and unexpected outcomes... Litvin's study, conducted with acumen and passion, uniquely emphasizes the potential impact of translating literature."--Federico Federici, Translation Studies "Hamlet's Arab Journey is an elegantly written, strongly argued book that would enrich courses in Arabic literature, cultural studies, and Middle East history."--Sonali Pahwa, International Journal of Middle East Studies "Reproductions of the revenge drama Hamlet in the Arab world, and the tragic plight of its famous protagonist Hamlet is meticulously followed by Margaret Litvin in her book Hamlet's Arab Journey, which benefits both the study of Arab theater and Shakespearean studies... Litvin eloquently presents an artistic journey of a text that was conceived some four hundred years ago in England and continues to travel around the globe in different garbs. From this point of view, her approach transcends the colonial/post-colonial or influencer/influenced relationships as she presents her subject matter with great caution."--Dina Amin, Journal of Arabic Literature