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Sparkling with the wit and verbal agility that characterize his writing, Kott's scholarly volume brings together three of his most important essays, each of them grounded in a particular Shakespeare play. The title essay in
The Gender of Rosalind offers a snapshot of Kott's thinking as it traces the complexities within-and implied by-
As You Like It's major female character. In "Head for Maidenhead, Maidenhead for Head" Kott unbraids the interwoven themes of gender, law, and familial attachment in
Measure for Measure. "The Guillotine as a Tragic Hero" deftly highlights the themes linking Georg Büchner's
Danton's Death with
Julius Caesar. Throughout the collection, Kott comfortably spans the four centuries since Shakespeare wrote. Rich in literary and historical references, the essays address intricate, timely issues in the study of theater with a grace that could only come from the pen of Jan Kott. His lucid exposition-even of complex ideas-and skillful translations make these essays rewarding reading for every educated person interested in dramatic criticism and theater history.
About the author
JAN KOTT, formerly professor of literature at the University of Warsaw, left Poland for the United States in 1966. He has taught at Yale, the University of California at Berkeley, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, as well as overseas in Japan, at the Catholic University at Louvain in Belgium, and at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1964 he received the Herder Award in Vienna, and in 1984 the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. His other books include
The Theater of Essence,
The Bottom Translation,
The Eating of the Gods, and
Four Decades of Polish Essays (editor), all published by Northwestern University Press.
