‘SHAKESPEARE and the HUMAN CONDITION’

BOOK LAUNCH

Author: Dr. SIRI GALHENAGE, Psychiatrist
Publishers: S. Godage & Brothers [Pvt] Ltd.
[Layout design by Saumya Sandaruwan Liyanage. Cover design by Erandha Bandara]

The book, ‘Shakespeare and the Human Condition’ by Dr. Siri Galhenage was launched on January 23, 2021, in Perth, Western Australia, amidst a gathering of medical professionals, academics and family and friends of the author. The event was chaired by Dr. Sue Lutton, Psychiatrist and convener of the History, Philosophy and Ethics Committee of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists [WA branch]. The keynote speech – ‘The Relevance of Literature in Postgraduate Training in Psychiatry’ – was delivered by Prof. Helen Slattery, Prof. of Psychiatry at Curtin University Medical School. Excerpts from the book were read by the author’s grandchildren: An analysis of Hamlet’s famous soliloquy – ‘To Be or Not to Be’ – by Shayani Galhenage; and Ariel’s song of freedom in The Tempest by Niveyn Galhenage, followed by an address by the author.

The Book

‘Shakespeare and the Human Condition’ is a compilation of 14 essays providing an appraisal of some of Shakespeare’s plays and poems from a psycho-social point of view, written over a period of 5five years – all published in the literary columns of The Island. The book is enriched by a scholarly Preface by Prof. Wimal Dissanayake, erudite literary figure of international fame, based in Hawaii, USA.

In the book, the author has explored the troubled mind of Prince Hamlet, a young man experiencing a profound sense of loss with conflicting emotions, tracing the shift of his mental state from mourning to melancholy; analysed Hamlet’s famous soliloquy: ‘To Be or Not to Be’; illustrated the flight into a state of mania in the young and beautiful Ophelia, in Hamlet, in her defence of a deep sense of sadness and betrayal – leading to her demise – one of the great character creations in all Shakespeare; pathogenesis of marital jealousy and it’s destructive outcome, in Othello; the presentation of a delusion of infidelity in King Leontes in The Winter’s Tale; the existential dilemma in old age in King Lear; destruction of self and others in the pursuit of power in Macbeth; two facets of love during courtship as depicted in Much Ado About Nothing; and the display of compassion and forgiveness over vengeance in The Tempest – a play with a metaphysical theme. The author has also depicted the comparison of love and lust in Venus and Adonis and the agony of a victim of rape in Lucrece – in two of the most popular narrative poems by Shakespeare. In two separate essays, the author has endeavoured to trace the source of ‘Shakespeare’s Literary Endowment’ and has underscored the importance of ‘Reading Shakespeare’.

‘Shakespeare and the human condition’ is a small book [140 pages] with a big expectation. It was written with the hope of luring the young to reading Shakespeare, often avoided by them as being difficult, ancient, or as being elitist. It is also hoped that the reader may gain insight into their own condition through the characters and situations the literary genius created, while enjoying his remarkable way with the words.

In his Preface to the book Prof. Wimal Dissanayake observes: “Dr. Siri Galhenage’s ‘Shakespeare and the Human Condition’ is intended for the general reader. However, the expert in the field too would find it insightful…. Dr. Galhenage writes lucidly without overburdening his prose with jargon which is unfortunately the case with much contemporary exegetical writing on Shakespeare. Instead of the forbiddingly opaque and punishing style that marks many of the critical writings on Shakespeare, where impenetrability has been elevated to a badge of value, it is refreshing to read a lucidly written reader-friendly critical account of the Bard’s writings”.

About the Author

The auhtor Dr. Siri Galhenage, MBBS, DPM, MRCPsych, FRANZCP, is a retired Consultant Psychiatrist resident in Perth, Western Australia. He was educated at Thurstan College, Colombo, and received his medical education at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya [1967]. Following postgraduate training in Adult Psychiatry [with accredited training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry] in the UK, he migrated to Australia in 1980, where he held the positions of Consultant Psychiatrist at Graylands Hospital, Director of Heathcote Hospital and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital [Teaching], in Perth. He was a former member of the Committee of Examinations of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.

Why Shakespeare?

‘The greatest challenge of literature is to fully explore and transmit what it is to be human. A good piece of literary art attempts to explore the full range and depth of human experience and prompt us, if we are discerning enough, to recognise ourselves in the characters and situations it creates’.

William Shakespeare, unarguably the greatest literary artist in the English Language, was one who has vastly contributed to enhancing all aspects of literary sensibility. Quite apart from his boundless imagination and his craft of his native tongue, the most remarkable aspect of his literary artistry is his deep understanding of the human condition long before theoretical frameworks were developed in understanding the human mind by psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud and others. He also understood human nature better than most and expressed it better than any other, he had the remarkable gift of revealing us to ourselves. He presented us as we are; never conveyed any messages; and he left us to make our own interpretations. Not only that, he addressed the concerns of his contemporary audiences of the Elizabethan era but also spoke to us directly in the modern world, leading to the universal appeal and timelessness of his work. As his friend and colleague, Ben Jonson, famously pronounced, “Shakespeare is not of an age, but for all time”.

Pictures by Prof. Tilak Chandratillake and Gihan Galhenage