First Name:
Callie
Last Name:
Lewis
Major Department:
English
Thesis Director:
David Orvis
Date of Thesis:
May 2011
Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber ofFleet Street by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, although written several centuries apart, prove upon closer examination to be exemplary ofthe Elizabethan and Jacobean revenge tragedy. This thesis explores the ways in which both plays share the motifs ofthe archetypal revenge tragedy as well as various additional themes, and such a comparison .- ofan early modern tragedy against a more contemporary one is a step towards illuminating the difference between what revenge meant in Shakespeare's era and what it means now. Similarly, this difference is further illuminated by exploring two modern versions o f Hamlet in performance, as the character o f Hamlet and his motivations for revenge can differ greatly depending upon the actor and production in question. The portrayals discussed in this study include Hamlet as performed by David Tennant in the 2009 Royal Shakespeare Company production in Stratford and London, and Hamlet as performed by John Simm in a production at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 2010.