Shakespeare in the Bush Laura Bohannan Essay

An Analysis of Shakespeare in the Bush
Author’s Name
The Institutional Affiliation
Course Number and Name
Instructor Name
Assignment Due Date
An Analysis of Shakespeare in the Bush
Shakespeare in the Bush is an essay written by Laura Bohannan, who tells Hamlet to the Tiv Elders of Nigeria. Her experience lifts the concept of human nature. It also gives an insight into Nigerian culture, resources, and history.
Before her experience, she thought that human nature is universal and tragedies with a different tint of customs and native language, but the plot and motives are appealing to the people from every culture (Bohannan, 1966). However, telling Hamlet to the natives of Tiv altered her opinion about human nature, and she came about that cultural variation is a significant part of human nature and has an immense impact on understanding the plot and motives of a tragedy from a different culture (Bohannan, 1966). Tiv Nigerians began to interpret the characterization and the progress of the plot according to their cultural resources and history.
There are different parts of the play that the Tiv Elders interpreted differently than Bohannan. For example, they raise controversy over the return of Hamlet’s father after his death to tell his son the truth of the new Chief. They do not let the storyteller progress unless they succeed in altering ghosts according to their cultural means. Similarly, they do not believe in emotions. Madness always has a source in witchcraft, according to them (Bohannan, 1966). For example, the death of Ophelia by drowning is a confirmed witchcraft case by the shrewd elders. They consider these incidents very important as they set the plot of the story and constitute its meaning; therefore, the elders like them should guide the younger storytellers in the right direction (Bohannan, 1966). They thought that nobody guided Bohannian this way; that is why t...