Shakespeare in the Bush

[Elok]

http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/~idris/Essays/Shakes_in_Bush.htm

A classic of anthropology; I had no idea it was available online, but I'm glad that it is. It's a great cautionary tale, and pretty bloody funny.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

That's hilarious! I'm e-mailing it to my daughter, the Shakespeare fan, to share with her English class (which just finished Macbeth). Thanks!

[DRoseDARs]

It boggles the brain how they twisted Hamlet yet still made it work within their cultural framework.

[Elok]

I think the story's pretty good the way they tell it. More like Macbeth than Hamlet though. "Kids, don't use witchcraft. It spirals out of control and kills you."

[DaShi]

It reminds me of how some students in my Chinese class would interpret stories from other countries. One class gave me a performance of "The Giving Tree," a personal favorite. However, their interpretation of the story was altered slightly from that of unconditional love. They required that the tree represent parents in order for it to make sense. I tried to suggest to them that their might be more to it. For example, the tree is still there for the boy even when the boy in very old. You're parents, most likely won't be. But they wouldn't accept that so I let them have their way. They got the message of unconditional love, but they couldn't see it beyond their family. Family bond is very strong and important in China's culture.

However, I couldn't understand how one student interpreted "Pieces of April" as a story of how America learned about the Thanksgiving holiday from China.