Gertrude and Claudius
Author | : John Updike |
Publisher | : Random House Trade Paperbacks |
Total Pages | : 225 |
Release | : 2001-07-03 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780449006979 |
ISBN-13 | : 0449006972 |
Rating | : 4/5 (972 Downloads) |
Download or read book Gertrude and Claudius written by John Updike and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2001-07-03 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gertrude and Claudius are the “villains” of Hamlet: he the killer of Hamlet’s father and usurper of the Danish throne; she his lusty consort, who marries Claudius before her late husband’s body is cold. But in this imaginative “prequel” to the play, John Updike makes a case for the royal couple that Shakespeare only hinted at. Gertrude and Claudius are seen afresh against a background of fond intentions and family dysfunction, on a stage darkened by the ominous shadow of a sullen, erratic, disaffected prince. “I hoped to keep the texture light,” Updike said of this novel, “to move from the mists of Scandinavian legend into the daylight atmosphere of the Globe. I sought to narrate the romance that preceded the tragedy.”