Shakespeare in the Bush

  • Due No Due Date
  • Points 15
  • Submitting a file upload

USE MLA

DO YOUR OWN WORK; NO COLLUSION.

Read Bohannon’s “Shakespeare in the Bush,” pp. 187-195, and answer the following questions.  Submit your responses before class begins. 

 

 DO NOT INCLUDE THE QUESTIONS IN THE DOCUMENT YOU SUBMIT.

  1. Why does Bohannon decide to take a copy of Shakespeare’s Hamlet with her on her trip to Africa?
  2. Why does Bohannon’s friend think that she will be unable to fully understand Shakespeare? 
  3. What does Bohannon hope to achieve by telling the story of Hamlet to the people in the village where she is living?
  4. Do the villagers seem aware of Shakespeare’s reputation? How does that seem to affect the way they respond to the story?
  5. In what ways do the villagers “get” the story? With which aspects do they have difficulty? Who is more correct, Bohannon's British friend or Bohannon about how universally understandable the story is?
  6. What do the villagers conclude is true about Westerners after hearing Bohannon tell the Hamlet story? Does this surprise you at all? Why or why not?
  7. How is the story of Hamlet a "window into a world" for both the tribal listeners and Bohannon/us as readers? As students of world literature, what do you think is significant about Bohannon’s experience in helping us think about what “world literature” means?
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