Material Culture in Shakespeare's Plays: The Impact of the Global Economy

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K02471
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: Doshisha University
• Principal Investigator: Takayuki Katsuyama 同志社大学, 文学部, 教授 (30204449)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: シェイクスピア / 初期近代英国演劇 / 東洋 / 物質文化 / グローバル経済

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the production and export of goods from Asian countries such as China, India, Thailand (Siam), and Indonesia, played a leading role in world trade. European markets eagerly sought goods from the East, and merchants just as eagerly sought trade routes to Asia, by land and sea, the better to provide them. In the early modern period, Europe was therefore less the center of the global economy than part of vast economic zone characterized by the East. My project seeks to explore the relationship between this global economy and Shakespeare's plays.
In Shakespeare's plays, we find many references to goods frequently traded at the time. By examining references to goods from the Orient (silk fabrics, carpets, indigo, spices, porcelain, etc.), I have tried, in my research, to clarify two things: the influence of the global economy on Shakespeare’s plays, and people's interest in the material culture the plays exhibit.

Free Research Field

英文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

16世紀のキリスト教ヨーロッパは，アジアを中心とした経済圏に参入することによって，まさにグローバル経済に巻き込まれていったのであり，その理解なくしては英国社会および経済の実態も充分に把握することはできない。
キリスト教圏を世界の中心に据えようとする従来の批評動向に一石を投じ，アジア経済圏を中心として，イスラム教圏，キリスト教圏，そして更には新大陸をも包括するグローバル経済圏を念頭におきながら，交易品の流通と消費の様子を英国社会内に探ることにより，初期近代の英国人の物質文化(Material Culture)への関心とシェイクスピア演劇の関係を探った。