📝... BARDOLATRY CRITICISM...📝

With an interesting question, I would like to start my blog. What does bardolatry criticism mean? The term bardolatry means someone who praises or worships William Shakespeare and his works. This term was coined by an Irish Playwright , George Bernard Shaw. In bardolatry criticism, Shakespeare is worshipped in a negative sense. There are many bardolatry critics but today we are going to have a glance at Charles Lamb's bardolatry criticism. 

Charles Lamb is a bardolatry critic because he prefers the page over the stage which means he appreciates the readers of the Shakespearean plays than the audiences who enjoys the play on the stage where it is performed or enacted. Charles Lamb says that, the plays of Shakespeare are full of life and it contains a powerful message which a reader can even apply to himself. When the same play is performed, it loses its true essence and just seen as an entertainment. According to Charles Lamb, there is a huge conflict between the text and the stage. The works of Shakespeare can only be understood by solitary reading and not by seeing the performance enacted by the actors on the stage. At times, the audience gets distracted while seeing the play and sometimes even give importance only for the dialogues and the tone but not to the exact scene. Sometimes the audience could get distracted by the body language and fails to keep track of the dialogue. Shakespearean drama is meant to meditate and not for entertainment because Shakespeare has carved each and every character in such a manner. The symbols he symbolizes can only be understood while reading. Even they may be a talented actors but they fail to project the character in such a way Shakespeare do and it can only be understood while reading. Actors who performs the play is more focused on the delivery of dialogue, tone, body language, gestures which leads to lack of naturalness. 

Shakespeare centers and also interested in the study of mankind. Shakespeare enhances the imagination power and enriches the deeper understanding to his readers through the character and the flow in which he writes the scene and the symbols he uses in his writings. 

Charles Lamb explains the concept of page over the stage through some illustrations that are extracted from Shakespearean dramas. 

In MACBETH, the character of Macbeth is more emphasized and centered than that of King Duncan. In the murder scene, the King Duncan is more shown to be pity where he is about to die and creates tension in the minds of the audience and when the bell strikes King Duncan is murdered. But whereas in reading the play, Shakespeare clearly symbolizes the weapon in which the King Duncan is about to get killed. The pressure which Macbeth gets while Lady Macbeth stresses him to kill King Duncan by testing his masculinity are well portrayed and can be clearly understood by the readers. When it is performed on the stage, it creates the readers to make fun of and originality gets faded. Charles Lamb also illustrates the importance of page over the stage by using The Witches in Macbeth.  The three witches that are shown in Macbeth plays an important role whereas while performing the role of witches, old women will be brought out on stage where the character loses its essence and they will be made fun of. While we read it, we imagine something that is really terrifying and extremely that is so frightening but when that character is brought on stage, they are used as the object of laughter, which eventually leads to distraction from the thrill. Shakespeare uses such a great elements in his drama which is impossible to bring out the copy of it by anyone. Shakespeare's works are full of uniqueness which cannot bring out the true feel when it is performed on the stage. 

In ROMEO AND JULIET, the romantic scene in which the dialogue is delivered, the audience focuses on the romance and the appearance of the actors and not on the dialogues or the true elements in which Shakespeare wrote. It is clearly understood when it is read. 

Charles Lamb says in the drama KING LEAR, written by Shakespeare that " Lear of Shakespeare cannot be acted" It must be understood in our minds. He also says " While we read it, we see not Lear, but we are Lear" because Shakespeare has carved the character in such a way that it cannot be performed. 

In HAMLET, the portraits of the husbands are brought on stage in which they may be criticized in a negative manner and are bought by using the minimum things and the necessary items and money they had but in reading, the readers imagines the portraits which is even more effective than in performing. 

Charles Lamb being a bardolatry critic, prefers the page over the stage. The readers understands the true and exact way in which Shakespeare wrote, when it is performed, it loses its originality and it is just seen as an entertainment and the purpose of the drama gets deviated in the minds of people and people just enjoys the play and they will not get a clear understanding of what actually is written. 

To support this there is another example. 

PONNIYIN SELVAN is a book that is written years ago but recently it has been enacted by actors. The true essence of the book has definitely not protrayed on the screen, to make it more interesting and entertaining, the directors has changed some dialogues and scenes in which people enjoy but the text has not been completely acted. Therefore, page over the stage is preferred by Charles Lamb. When it is read, it can be understood in the same manner in which it is written. 

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