EA 190 Shakespeare & Japan Discussion Questions Week 5

1. Answer the forum question on Free Will in Throne of Blood. Make sure you support your answer! You can respond as often as you like, but please respond at least once to get credit for this question.

2. Read the opening section of Tales of the Heike. (For more info on Tales of the Heike, click here.)

a. Kurosawa opens and closes with an identical verse chanted Noh style. When we first meet the supernatural hag of Spiderweb Forest, she is also chanting Noh style. What is the general theme of these chanted sections? (Note that the Hoagland subtitles, Richie subtitles, and English screenplay translation of these sections are somewhat different. I'll try to have the Japanese available this week, but in the meantime just pick one to use). How does this theme compare to the opening paragraph of Tales of the Heike? To what extent is this theme Buddhist?

b. How does the repetition of the opening and closing chanted verses frame the movie thematically? Although appearing to present a Buddhist (not Christian) view of life, what lines/speeches in Macbeth might the ideas presented in the chanted sections (both at the open/close and voiced by the hag) correspond to? Cite lines and support our choices please!