Hamlet in Pakistan

Abstract

This thesis tests and questions the concept of revenge in Hamlet against the context of Pukhtun culture in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan. As this study seeks to understand the emotive meaning of revenge in a range of cultural contexts, I explore the way in which Hamlet is read and interpreted in a culture where revenge, as in the debased form of badal, is both current and pervasive. The KP universities‘ students who belong to the culture, where revenge is considered obligatory, tend to identify themselves with various characters of the play, particularly Hamlet. This study seeks to ascertain the experience of the play as a dramaturgical construct which questions the revenge ethos capable of modifying entrenched beliefs among young Pakistanis engaged in reading the play at KP universities. As a result, I explore the role and use of Hamlet as an educational tool to combat revenge practices in Pakistan. This research contributes to the growing work on Shakespeare criticism and performance in different cultures around the world by presenting the relevant appropriations of the play in Pakistan and worldwide.

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