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 30
... remind ourselves , the ancient re- venge theme remembered in medieval traditions of tribal feud was already an archaic idea . With the ascension of James I in 1603 , an analogy could be made between the situation of Shakespeare's Hamlet ...
... remind ourselves , the ancient re- venge theme remembered in medieval traditions of tribal feud was already an archaic idea . With the ascension of James I in 1603 , an analogy could be made between the situation of Shakespeare's Hamlet ...
Página 32
... reminding the audience of his effort to reincarnate the old Revenge persona , as though , indeed , representing his creator's own surrendered skep- ticism , Hamlet will still shout at the end , when Laertes threatens to outdo him in ...
... reminding the audience of his effort to reincarnate the old Revenge persona , as though , indeed , representing his creator's own surrendered skep- ticism , Hamlet will still shout at the end , when Laertes threatens to outdo him in ...
Página 33
... reminds the audience that an actor is making noises down in the space beneath the stage . At a theater like the Globe , where the same company played repeatedly , the audi- ence was always aware of the man playing the part ; when ...
... reminds the audience that an actor is making noises down in the space beneath the stage . At a theater like the Globe , where the same company played repeatedly , the audi- ence was always aware of the man playing the part ; when ...
Página 34
... " challenges the objective status of events that are supposed to have preceded those we have been permitted to witness directly . It also reminds us that these later visible events are themselves the 34 Hamlet , Revenge !
... " challenges the objective status of events that are supposed to have preceded those we have been permitted to witness directly . It also reminds us that these later visible events are themselves the 34 Hamlet , Revenge !
Página 35
Millicent Bell. reminds us that these later visible events are themselves the mat- ter of a play , Shakespeare's Hamlet . And this flow of theatricality expands outward from the edge of the stage . Those ranks of inter- ested spectators ...
Millicent Bell. reminds us that these later visible events are themselves the mat- ter of a play , Shakespeare's Hamlet . And this flow of theatricality expands outward from the edge of the stage . Those ranks of inter- ested spectators ...
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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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