Shakespeare's Tragic SkepticismYale University Press, 2008 M10 1 - 304 páginas Readers of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies have long noted the absence of readily explainable motivations for some of Shakespeare’s greatest characters: why does Hamlet delay his revenge for so long? Why does King Lear choose to renounce his power? Why is Othello so vulnerable to Iago’s malice? But while many critics have chosen to overlook these omissions or explain them away, Millicent Bell demonstrates that they are essential elements of Shakespeare’s philosophy of doubt. Examining the major tragedies, Millicent Bell reveals the persistent strain of philosophical skepticism. Like his contemporary, Montaigne, Shakespeare repeatedly calls attention to the essential unknowability of our world. In a period of social, political, and religious upheaval, uncertainty hovered over matters great and small—the succession of the crown, the death of loved ones from plague, the failure of a harvest. Tumultuous social conditions raised ultimate questions for Shakespeare, Bell argues, and ultimately provoked in him a skepticism which casts shadows of existential doubt over his greatest masterpieces. |
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Página ix
... first prompted to write this study of Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleo- patra by the realization that much previous discussion tended to confine and reduce their variousness and contradictions ...
... first prompted to write this study of Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleo- patra by the realization that much previous discussion tended to confine and reduce their variousness and contradictions ...
Página 13
... first published , yet his book was placed on the Index in 1676 , as Sebond's writing had been a hundred years before . There is no reason to suspect that Montaigne's faith was not sin- cere — perhaps even passionate — precisely because ...
... first published , yet his book was placed on the Index in 1676 , as Sebond's writing had been a hundred years before . There is no reason to suspect that Montaigne's faith was not sin- cere — perhaps even passionate — precisely because ...
Página 14
... first and sec- ondary causes . Newton's Principia of 1687 is the culmination of the idea that not only is the universe knowable but that what happens in it can be explained by natural law . Yet at the end of the sixteenth century this ...
... first and sec- ondary causes . Newton's Principia of 1687 is the culmination of the idea that not only is the universe knowable but that what happens in it can be explained by natural law . Yet at the end of the sixteenth century this ...
Página 16
... first perswasion . And that's the reason why children , those of the common sort , women , and sicke - folke , are so subject to be mis - led , and so easie to swallow gudgeons . Yet on the other side , it is a sottish presumption to ...
... first perswasion . And that's the reason why children , those of the common sort , women , and sicke - folke , are so subject to be mis - led , and so easie to swallow gudgeons . Yet on the other side , it is a sottish presumption to ...
Página 19
... first published poem , Venus and Adonis , and then Lu- crece , to this same patron who was , possibly , also the " Mr. W.H " to whom the poet dedicated his Sonnets . The alternate candidate for the honor of the Sonnets dedication has ...
... first published poem , Venus and Adonis , and then Lu- crece , to this same patron who was , possibly , also the " Mr. W.H " to whom the poet dedicated his Sonnets . The alternate candidate for the honor of the Sonnets dedication has ...
Contenido
1 | |
29 | |
2 Othellos Jealousy | 80 |
3 Unaccommodated Lear | 138 |
4 Macbeths Deeds | 191 |
The Roman Frame | 241 |
Selected Bibliography | 279 |
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Términos y frases comunes
action actor ambiguous ambition Antony and Cleopatra Antony's appears asks audience Banquo blood Brabantio Brutus called Cassio cause character Cinthio Claudius Cordelia crime daughters death deed denies Desdemona doubt dramatic Duncan Edgar Edmund Emilia expressed faith false father feel fideism Florio Folio Fool Fortinbras fourth act ghost Gloucester Goneril Hamlet hath hear Horatio human Iago Iago's idea identity imagination jealousy Julius Caesar Kent killed King Lear Lady Macbeth Laertes lago Lear's Macduff Machiavellian madness Malcolm marriage meaning mind Montaigne Montaigne's motive murder nature never observed Ophelia Othello philosophic skepticism play's playwright plot Plutarch Polonius prophecy Quarto reference Regan reminds revenge Roderigo role royal says scene seems selfhood sense sexual Shake Shakespeare Shakespeare's play skepticism social soliloquy someone speaks speare's stage story suggested tells theater theatrical things thou thought tion tragedy tragic trial true truth witchcraft witches word