{"product_id":"classicizing-shakespeare-jean-franzois-ducis-and-the-first-european-adaptations-9781350337824","title":"Classicizing Shakespeare: Jean-François Ducis and the First European Adaptations","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis book explores the nature and wide-ranging impact of the work of Jean-François Ducis (1733-1816), the first adaptor of \u003ci\u003eHamlet\u003c\/i\u003e and of five other Shakespeare tragedies for the French theatre.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJean-François Ducis is anything but prominent in the histories of Shakespeare adaptation, yet he was pivotal in introducing French and European audiences to Shakespeare's plays on the stage. His \u003ci\u003eHamlet, tragédie imitée de l'anglais\u003c\/i\u003e, performed at the Comédie française in 1769, was the first representation of a Shakespeare play on a French stage and was still performed in 1851. Despite his total ignorance of English, Ducis also adapted\u003ci\u003e Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, King John \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Othello\u003c\/i\u003e, playswhich were then translated, like his \u003ci\u003eHamlet\u003c\/i\u003e, into a number of European languages. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eClassicizing\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eShakespeare \u003c\/i\u003estudies Ducis's Shakespearean corpusin the context of the neoclassical climate which, a century earlier, had set off a wave of adaptations in England. Within the wider picture of the European representation of Shakespeare on the stage from 1660 to 1850, the study of Ducis's emblematic case sheds further light on the rationale of these English adaptations as well as on the reception of Shakespeare's plays in most Continental countries well into the 19th century. Willems' rich contextual study demonstrates why the translations of Ducis's own 'imitations' were instrumental in exporting Shakespeare all over the Continent. Through attention to the professional relationship with the renowned actor, François-Joseph Talma, \u003ci\u003eClassicizing Shakespeare\u003c\/i\u003e reveals too how collaborative practices in the theatre impact on the evolution of a text.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichèle Willems\u003c\/b\u003e is Emeritus Professor at the University of Rouen, France. She has published on the reception and representation of Shakespeare's drama, essentially in the 18th century, and on Shakespeare on screen.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Arden Shakespeare","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52101651202322,"sku":"9781350337824","price":126.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_fdbe8d9c-e633-4141-b8e0-976d6a879836.jpg?v=1773135406","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/classicizing-shakespeare-jean-franzois-ducis-and-the-first-european-adaptations-9781350337824","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}