Laura Bohannan,in a classic essay called "Shakespeare in the Bush," describes the problems she had in conveying an appreciation of Hamlet to the Tiv of Nigeria.She eventually realized that,far from being universalistic and transcendent,even great art is to some extent culture-bound.Is there any possibility of coming up with aesthetic standards that are applicable cross-culturally? Would some works of art be recognizable as better than others to people outside of their cultures of origin?

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The Answer of Laura Bohannan,in a classic essay called "Shakespeare in the Bush," describes the problems she had in conveying an appreciation of Hamlet to the Tiv of Nigeria.She eventually realized that,far from being universalistic and transcendent,even great art is to some extent culture-bound.Is there any possibility of coming up with aesthetic standards that are applicable cross-culturally? Would some works of art be recognizable as better than others to people outside of their cultures of origin?

Laura Bohannan,in a Classic Essay Called "Shakespeare in the Bush