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 xiv
... heart of Shakespeare's plays in a peculiar way . That essential interiority is implied by Hamlet's statement that he has " that within which passeth show ” has been claimed by some mod- ern scholars who attribute to Shakespeare and the ...
... heart of Shakespeare's plays in a peculiar way . That essential interiority is implied by Hamlet's statement that he has " that within which passeth show ” has been claimed by some mod- ern scholars who attribute to Shakespeare and the ...
Página 1
... heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck at , and maybe , like Iago , he really has no heart . What he is “ trying to say ” in his plays is hardly distinguishable in the chorus of ideas that his poetry and dra- matic structures make us ...
... heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck at , and maybe , like Iago , he really has no heart . What he is “ trying to say ” in his plays is hardly distinguishable in the chorus of ideas that his poetry and dra- matic structures make us ...
Página 12
... hearts uncertain opinions , but , rather , affirmations of the strongest sort . " Erasmus's skepticism actually merged with the view of the counterreforma- tion Jesuits concerning the necessity of dogma and the renuncia- tion of reason ...
... hearts uncertain opinions , but , rather , affirmations of the strongest sort . " Erasmus's skepticism actually merged with the view of the counterreforma- tion Jesuits concerning the necessity of dogma and the renuncia- tion of reason ...
Página 36
... heart of my mystery , you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass ; and there is much music , excellent voice , in this little organ , yet cannot you make it speak , ' Sblood , do you think I am easier to be played ...
... heart of my mystery , you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass ; and there is much music , excellent voice , in this little organ , yet cannot you make it speak , ' Sblood , do you think I am easier to be played ...
Página 40
... heart so solemnly by the hero ? That action does not promptly follow in- tention is partly inherent in the suspense requirement that holds off the final shoot - out . Shakespeare's audience may even have ac- cepted Hamlet's scattered ...
... heart so solemnly by the hero ? That action does not promptly follow in- tention is partly inherent in the suspense requirement that holds off the final shoot - out . Shakespeare's audience may even have ac- cepted Hamlet's scattered ...
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