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Adaptations and Impressions: Belleforest’s Queen Gertrude and Shakepeare’s

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1505-9065.19.10

Keywords:

Belleforest, Shakespeare, Histoires tragiques, Hamlet, Historia Danica, Gertrude, tragedy, psychological rupture, conflict, reconciliation, conspiracy, adaptation

Abstract

This study traces the influence of François de Belleforest on William Shakespeare through the character of Gertrude (named « Geruthe » in Belleforest) in Hamlet. Basing his work on the original Danish legend of Saxo Grammaticus (Historia Danica), Belleforest in his Histoires tragiques gives voice to the character who is both mother of the protagonist (called « Amleth » in Belleforest) and queen of Denmark. In turn, Shakespeare elaborates and deepens the portrait of Gertrude. Inspired largely by Belleforest’s example, the Elizabethan playwright emphasizes the psychological rupture between Hamlet and his mother while underscoring the evolution of their relationship from one of conflict to reconciliation over the course of the tragedy. Belleforest’s representation of Geruthe also includes her ambiguous role in the numerous plots against Hamlet. These conspiracies are appropriated by Shakespeare to heighten the tension of the drama and to render Gertrude a tragic character herself.

Author Biography

  • Russell Ganim, University of Iowa

    Russell Ganim est professeur de français et Vice-Recteur et Doyen de Programmes Internationaux à l’Université de l’Iowa. Ses recherches se concentrent sur la poésie religieuse du seizième et du dix-septième siècles, ainsi que sur le rapport entre le texte et l’image durant la première modernité. Son travail actuel porte sur la représentation de l’époque pré-révolutionnaire en France dans les dessins animés japonais.

References

Belleforest François de, Le Cinquiesme tome des Histoires tragiques, éd. Hervé-Thomas Campagne, Genève, Droz, 2013

De Grazia Margareta, “When Did Hamlet Become Modern?” Textual Practice, 2003, vol. 17, no 3, p. 485-503

Erlich Avi, Hamlet’s Absent Father, Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, 1977

Goldberg Carl, “The Shame of Hamlet and Oedipus”, The Psychoanalytic Review, 1989, vol. 76, no 4, p. 581-603

Gollancz Israel, The Sources of Hamlet, Londres, Oxford University Press, 1926

Maxwell Julie, “Versions of Saxo: A New Source for Hamlet?”, Renaissance Quarterly, 2004, vol. 57, no 2, p. 518-560

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Shakespeare William, Hamlet, Trans. François-Victor Hugo, URL: https://www.oeuvresouvertes.net/IMG/pdf/SHAKESPEARE_HAMLET.pdf, consulté le 05.01.2019

Shakespeare William, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, éds. Barbara A. Mowat et Paul Werstine, Folger Shakespeare Library, New York, Simon & Shuster, 2012

Stabler Arthur, “King Hamlet’s Ghost in Belleforest”, PMLA, 1962, vol. 77, no 1, p. 18-20

Stabler Arthur, “Melancholy, Ambition, and Revenge in Belleforest’s Hamlet”, PMLA, 1966, vol. 81, no 3, p. 207-213

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Published

2024-07-20

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Issue

No. 19 (2024): François de Belleforest : de la traduction à l’invention

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Articles

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Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Ganim, Russell. 2024. “Adaptations and Impressions: Belleforest’s Queen Gertrude and Shakepeare’s”. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Romanica, no. 19 (July): 143-53. https://doi.org/10.18778/1505-9065.19.10.
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