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. |
Dentro del libro
Resultados 1-5 de 24
Página 26
... a skepti- cism that the playwright could have been willing to let us entertain . Hamlet , as I shall begin by showing , represents a mind that could have resembled the playwright's own in its contesting engagement with 26 Introduction.
... a skepti- cism that the playwright could have been willing to let us entertain . Hamlet , as I shall begin by showing , represents a mind that could have resembled the playwright's own in its contesting engagement with 26 Introduction.
Página 32
... representing his creator's own surrendered skep- ticism , Hamlet will still shout at the end , when Laertes threatens to outdo him in melodramatic grief for Ophelia , “ Nay , an thou'lt mouth , / I'll rant as well as thou . ” It has ...
... representing his creator's own surrendered skep- ticism , Hamlet will still shout at the end , when Laertes threatens to outdo him in melodramatic grief for Ophelia , “ Nay , an thou'lt mouth , / I'll rant as well as thou . ” It has ...
Página 33
... representing a condition of mind that cannot either dismiss or dispense with models no longer congenial yet inescapable . In his extraordinary hero he represented that condition . - Hamlet's postmodern status as “ metatheater ...
... representing a condition of mind that cannot either dismiss or dispense with models no longer congenial yet inescapable . In his extraordinary hero he represented that condition . - Hamlet's postmodern status as “ metatheater ...
Página 39
... representing Hamlet to decide the question of Hamlet's madness in the nunnery scene and else- where . In the Revenge tradition , madness is used by the avenger to divert suspicion ; in Shakespeare it actually arouses it , so that it has ...
... representing Hamlet to decide the question of Hamlet's madness in the nunnery scene and else- where . In the Revenge tradition , madness is used by the avenger to divert suspicion ; in Shakespeare it actually arouses it , so that it has ...
Página 44
... represents an amoral extremity of view the Elizabethan audience may not have been prepared to accept , for it is cut from the Folio . Yet as the Player King had already said , " Purpose is but the slave to memory , / Of violent birth ...
... represents an amoral extremity of view the Elizabethan audience may not have been prepared to accept , for it is cut from the Folio . Yet as the Player King had already said , " Purpose is but the slave to memory , / Of violent birth ...
Contenido
1 | |
29 | |
2 Othellos Jealousy | 80 |
3 Unaccommodated Lear | 138 |
4 Macbeths Deeds | 191 |
The Roman Frame | 241 |
Selected Bibliography | 279 |
Otras ediciones - Ver todas
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