Shakespearen Narrative in Brébeuf’s Ghost

Foreign Literature Studies ›› 2018, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (5): 125-137.

• European and American Theatre Studies • Previous Articles Next Articles

Shakespearen Narrative in Brébeuf’s Ghost

Chen Hongwei, Li Changli

Online:2018-10-25 Published:2022-05-24
About author:Chen Hongwei is Ph. D. supervisor, professor at School of Foreign Studies, University of Science and Technology Beijing (Beijing 100083, China) specialized in western drama. Email: chenhongwei@ustb.edu.cn; Li Changli is a Ph. D. candidate of English literature at School of Foreign Studies, University of Science and Technology Beijing. He is also a lecturer in Capital University of Physical Education and Sports (Beijing 100191, China). He specializes in the study of North American drama. Email: lichangli01@126.com

Abstract

Abstract: Written by Native American playwright Daniel David Moses, Brébeuf’s Ghost, a tale of the history and ritual culture of American Indians, is a unique epic play based on the narrative structure of the ghost in Macbeth. Through the depictions of Brébeuf’s ghost, Windigo in Algonquin folklore and Hurons’ great journey of escape in 1649, the play reveals the cannibalistic nature of Jesuit missionaries in the colonialization of North American natives, and celebrates the shaman faith reflected in their tribal rituals. The great journey of Hurons is more than a journey of escape from the massacre of Iroquoians, like the Exodus, it is a poetic story of the survival of the indigenous culture in the face of colonial oppression.

Key words: Brébeuf’s Ghost, Macbeth, Native American epic play, culture of rituals, “Exodus” of the Indian versioin

Chen Hongwei, Li Changli. Shakespearen Narrative in Brébeuf’s Ghost[J]. Foreign Literature Studies, 2018, 40(5): 125-137.

References

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