Exploring Art and Literature: Interpretations, Perspectives and Influences

In this compilation, the authors suggest a temporal model interpretation for the stele from the Scythian Senior Trekhbratnyi barrow (IVIII centuries BC). The specific and unusual iconographical features of the stele are unknown in Bosporan Kingdom funerary art, however it can be interpreted not only as containing two layers but also temporal stages, which recreate consecutive phases of the Scythian eschatological myth, and Iranian eschatological beliefs in general. In the following chapter, the authors propose that since we are visually and aurally minded, it is worth inquiring into how, in Cervantes and Shakespeare, the eye and the ear are used and abused by the characters; how their interaction affects them as hearers and beholders who respond to what is happening by such processes as sympathy or antagonism; and how they make characters react in one way or another, as their actions and emotions depend on what they hear and see. Afterwards, the authors propose to explore the new linguistic context of Morocco in the midst of change, through the analysis of selected novels and theatre productions, and to discuss how current debates on language are challenging traditional ideas of identity and nationhood in the country. This collection also includes an analysis of Shakespeare in The Netherlands in education, translation, and performance, highlighting the specific impact of language, theatre system, and specific cultural conditions on performing Shakespeare on the Dutch stage. In doing so, the authors fill a gap in the literature on Shakespeare in The Netherlands.