The Bottom Translation: Marlowe and Shakespeare and the Carnival Tradition

by Jan Kott

The Bottom Translation represents the first critical attempt at applying the ideas and methods of the great Russian critic, Mikhail Bakhtin, to the works of Shakespeare and other Elizabethans. Professor Kott uncovers the cultural and mythopoetic traditions underlying  A Midsummer Night's Dream , The Tempest , Dr. Faustus , and other plays. His method draws him to interpret these works in the light of the carnival and popular tradition as it was set forth by Bakhtin. The Bottom Translation breaks new ground in critical thinking and theatrical vision and is an invaluable source of new ideas and perspectives. Included in this volume is also an extraordinary essay on Kurosawa's "Ran" in which the Japanese filmmaker recreates King Lear .

165 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1986

Reviews

[Daniel Gallimore]

Better known perhaps for his repudiation of the Stalinism of his youth and as a man of the theatre, Kott assimilates a remarkable knowledge of classical literature and Renaissance thought to argue for the necessity (and perils) of renewal in three of the seminal texts of English Renaissance drama.

[Dan]

Kott analyzes cruel and carnivalesque spectacle as this is reflected in early modern dramatic works like The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, and The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

Acquired 1995
The Word, Montreal, Quebec