Overview

No Hamlets is the first critical account of the role of Shakespeare in the intellectual tradition of the political right in Germany from the founding of the Empire in 1871 to the 'Bonn Republic' of the Cold War era. In this sustained study, Andreas Höfele begins with Friedrich Nietzsche and follows the rightist engagement with Shakespeare to the poet Stefan George and his circle, including Ernst Kantorowicz, and the literary efforts of the young Joseph Goebbels during the Weimar Republic, continuing with the Shakespeare debate in the Third Reich and its aftermath in the controversy over 'inner emigration' and concluding with Carl Schmitt's Shakespeare writings of the 1950s. Central to this enquiry is the identification of Germany and, more specifically, German intellectuals with Hamlet. The special relationship of Germany with Shakespeare found highly personal and at the same time highIy political expression in this recurring identification, and in its denial. But Hamlet is not the only Shakespearean character with strong appeal: Carl Schmitt's largely still unpublished diaries of the 1920s reveal an obsessive engagement with Othello which has never before been examined. Interest in German philosophy and political thought has increased in recent Shakespeare studies. No Hamlets brings historical depth to this international discussion. Illuminating the constellations that shaped and were shaped by specific appropriations of Shakespeare, Höfele shows how individual engagements with Shakespeare and a whole strand of Shakespeare reception were embedded in German history from the 1870s to the 1950s and eventually 1989, the year of German reunification.

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9780198718543

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Reviews

"In taking this long view, H""ofele rectifies any misconceptions we might have that 'right-wing Shakespeare' is purely a phenomenon of the Second World War, and in doing so he sheds fascinating light on less familiar aspects of German history in relation to right-wing politics and ideals and Shakespeare's role within these ... The position of Shakespeare comes full circle, from serving anti-democratic, racist, and fundamentalist causes, only to re-emerge as a powerful force in the midst of liberating and forward-thinking voices. Shakespeare, Hamlet, and to some extent Othello, thus become the keys to understanding German history, psyche, and identity in this powerful study. H""ofele's work has all the potential to become an instant classic, a standard work for academics and teachers alike. * Alessandra Bassey, Modern Language Review * I cannot remember reading so compelling, important and revelatory a Shakespeare book as this one ... This is a wonderfully, indeed movingly well-written book but the quality which particularly singles out No Hamlets is its intellectual and moral honesty. * Shakespeare Jahrbuch * Höfele tells a remarkable story about the way Shakespeare provides imaginative resources for some of the most challenging and troubling thought of the modern era ... also very much engaged with current conversations in early modern studies. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *"

Hoefele tells a remarkable story about the way Shakespeare provides imaginative resources for some of the mostchallenging and troubling thought of the modern era ... also very much engaged with current conversations in early modern studies. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *

Hofele tells a remarkable story about the way Shakespeare provides imaginative resources for some of the mostchallenging and troubling thought of the modern era ... also very much engaged with current conversations in early modern studies. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *

In taking this long view, Hoefele rectifies any misconceptions we might have that 'right-wing Shakespeare' is purely a phenomenon of the Second World War, and in doing so he sheds fascinating light on less familiar aspects of German history in relation to right-wing politics and ideals and Shakespeare's role within these ... The position of Shakespeare comes full circle, from serving anti-democratic, racist, and fundamentalist causes, only to re-emerge as a powerful force in the midst of liberating and forwardthinking voices. Shakespeare, Hamlet, and to some extent Othello, thus become the keys to understanding German history, psyche, and identity in this powerful study. Hoefele's work has all the potential to become an instant classic, a standard work for academics and teachers alike. * Alessandra Bassey, Modern Language Review * I cannot remember reading so compelling, important and revelatory a Shakespeare book as this one ... This is a wonderfully, indeed movingly well-written book but the quality which particulary singles out No Hamlets is its intellectual and moral honesty. * Shakespeare Jahrbuch * Hoefele tells a remarkable story about the way Shakespeare provides imaginative resources for some of the mostchallenging and troubling thought of the modern era ... also very much engaged with current conversations in early modern studies. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *

In taking this long view, Höfele rectifies any misconceptions we might have that 'right-wing Shakespeare' is purely a phenomenon of the Second World War, and in doing so he sheds fascinating light on less familiar aspects of German history in relation to right-wing politics and ideals and Shakespeare's role within these ... The position of Shakespeare comes full circle, from serving anti-democratic, racist, and fundamentalist causes, only to re-emerge as a powerful force in the midst of liberating and forward-thinking voices. Shakespeare, Hamlet, and to some extent Othello, thus become the keys to understanding German history, psyche, and identity in this powerful study. Höfele's work has all the potential to become an instant classic, a standard work for academics and teachers alike. * Alessandra Bassey, Modern Language Review * I cannot remember reading so compelling, important and revelatory a Shakespeare book as this one ... This is a wonderfully, indeed movingly well-written book but the quality which particularly singles out No Hamlets is its intellectual and moral honesty. * Shakespeare Jahrbuch * Höfele tells a remarkable story about the way Shakespeare provides imaginative resources for some of the most challenging and troubling thought of the modern era ... also very much engaged with current conversations in early modern studies. * Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *

Hofele tells a remarkable story about the way Shakespeare provides imaginative resources for some of the mostchallenging and troubling thought of the modern era ... also very much engaged with current conversations in early modern studies. Kevin Curran, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900

Author Information

Andreas Höfele is Professor of English at Munich University. He is the author of Stage, Stake, and Scaffold: Humans and Animals in Shakespeare's Theatre (OUP, 2011) which won the 2012 Roland H. Bainton Prize for Literature. His publications in German include books on Shakespeare's stagecraft, late nineteenth-century parody, and Malcolm Lowry, as well as six novels. He served as President of the German Shakespeare Society from 2002 to 2011.

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