Shakespeare's Tragic SkepticismYale University Press, 01/10/2008 - 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 4
... become a “ sterile promontory " to him . His mood is one of tragic loss from which he sees no recovery . This is a mood very different from that of lago , who , unlike Othello , has never believed or loved , and whose character belongs ...
... become a “ sterile promontory " to him . His mood is one of tragic loss from which he sees no recovery . This is a mood very different from that of lago , who , unlike Othello , has never believed or loved , and whose character belongs ...
Página 6
... become more intense and universal than previously . To begin with , traditional ideas about an inexplicable correspondence between disturbances in the human and natural worlds seemed confirmed by contemporary phenomena to an ex ...
... become more intense and universal than previously . To begin with , traditional ideas about an inexplicable correspondence between disturbances in the human and natural worlds seemed confirmed by contemporary phenomena to an ex ...
Página 19
... and remained his friend as he grew older . But even without a connection through this lord , Shakespeare certainly knew Daniel , who would become licenser of the Children of the Queen's Revels , rivals Introduction 19.
... and remained his friend as he grew older . But even without a connection through this lord , Shakespeare certainly knew Daniel , who would become licenser of the Children of the Queen's Revels , rivals Introduction 19.
Página 30
... become comical , of the old Revenge plays . And this was not merely a matter of the wearing - out of theatrical motifs . In Shakespeare's time , we must remind ourselves , the ancient re- venge theme remembered in medieval traditions of ...
... become comical , of the old Revenge plays . And this was not merely a matter of the wearing - out of theatrical motifs . In Shakespeare's time , we must remind ourselves , the ancient re- venge theme remembered in medieval traditions of ...
Página 61
... become purchas- able as the new rich became landed proprietors . The traditional social category based on inherited position and the theatrical type could no longer be taken with complete seriousness . Uncertainty about characterizing ...
... become purchas- able as the new rich became landed proprietors . The traditional social category based on inherited position and the theatrical type could no longer be taken with complete seriousness . Uncertainty about characterizing ...
Índice
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