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Hamletism in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–39
in Critical Survey
Author:
Jesús Tronch
Jesús Tronch
University of Valencia jesus.tronch@uv.es
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Abstract
Within the historical context of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–39, ineffectuality, vacillation and irresolution in social and political commitment came under scrutiny as a kind of ‘Hamletism’. Catalan journalist and writer Paulino Masip (1899–1963) cites Hamlet as a type in his article ‘Carta a un espanñl escéptico’ [‘Letter to a sceptical Spaniard’] in the Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia on 16 September 1937, as does José Bergamín (1895–1983) in his contribution to the 2nd International Congress of Writers in Defence of Culture, published in the monthly review Hora de España in August 1937. A theatre production of Hamlet in Valencia in December 1937 reveals similar conflicts and anxieties. In the novel El diario de Hamlet García [The Diary of Hamlet García], written during his exile in Mexico, Masip criticizes wartime Hamletism and reflects upon the dilemmas the civil war imposed on him, contemporary intellectuals and the civilian population of Madrid.
Contributor Notes
Jesús Tronch is professor titular (Senior Lecturer) at the University of Valencia, where he teaches English literature and creative translation. He is the author of A Synoptic Hamlet (Publicacions de la Universitat de Valencia/S E DERI, 2002) and Un primer Hamlet (Fundación Shakespeare de España, 1994) and co-editor of bilingual English-Spanish editions of Antony and Cleopatra (Cátedra, 2001) and The Tempest (Cátedra, 1994) as well as a critical edition of The Spanish Tragedy for the Arden Early Modern Drama series (Bloomsbury, 2013). His essays and reviews have appeared in journals such as SEDERI, Atlantis, Shakespeare Survey and Shakespeare Quarterly, as well as numerous collections. At present, he is editing Timon of Athens for the Internet Shakespeare Editions.