Abstract
Edward Bond’s historical play Bingo, written in 1973, dramatically depicts Shakespeare as an exploiter and a suicide. It has given rise to lasting arguments in western academia ever since its premiere. Based on the focus of the disputes since the 1970s and the historical background of the enclosure movement, the characterization of this play is asserted through analyzing Shakespeare’s ethical dilemma in terms of his handling of financial temptation, family indifference and literary infertility from the perspective of ethical literary criticism. The play’s “alienation effect” and the tension of ethical interpretation generated by it are further discussed. By virtue of the above analysis, this paper advances a defense of Bond’s adoption of new historicism in writing.
Highlights
Born in 1934, Edward Bond emerged as a playwright as part of what is entitled as the “New Wave of British Theatre” catalyzed by John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger in 1956
From 1973 to 2012, the play only gradually won the attention and approval it deserves. The reasons for this are worthy of a detailed discussion, and this discussion can undoubtedly lead us into a further discussion of this play from the perspective of “ethical literary criticism” and its alienation effect
Bingo is not a parody of Shakespeare, but a vivid old Shakespeare portrayed in depth by Edward Bond
Summary
Born in 1934, Edward Bond emerged as a playwright as part of what is entitled as the “New Wave of British Theatre” catalyzed by John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger in 1956 He is often mentioned in the same breath as John Osborne (1929-1994), Arnold Wesker (1932- ) and Harold Pinter (1930-2008). Like that of his peers, owes much to the encouragement of new talent by the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theater His historical play Bingo: Scenes of Money and Death (here after “Bingo” for short), directed by Jane Howell and John Dove, was first presented at the Northcott Theatre, Devon on 14 November 1973. The reasons for this are worthy of a detailed discussion, and this discussion can undoubtedly lead us into a further discussion of this play from the perspective of “ethical literary criticism” and its alienation effect
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