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 9
... father's astrological notions and Iago's insistence that " " Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus . . . . The power and cor- rigible authority of this lies in our wills . " Calvin called the idea that “ all the evils wherewith the ...
... father's astrological notions and Iago's insistence that " " Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus . . . . The power and cor- rigible authority of this lies in our wills . " Calvin called the idea that “ all the evils wherewith the ...
Página 23
... father who loved her best ; Macbeth's unforesee- able disloyalty and murderousness — all these receive more expla- nation in Shakespeare's sources , Tolstoy complained , than Shake- speare deigned to include in his plays . But how can ...
... father who loved her best ; Macbeth's unforesee- able disloyalty and murderousness — all these receive more expla- nation in Shakespeare's sources , Tolstoy complained , than Shake- speare deigned to include in his plays . But how can ...
Página 30
... father's murder and so cause his uncle to acknowl- edge his crime . Its character as parody is indicated by Hamlet's impatient exclamation to the actor who comes on as the murderer : “ Pox , leave thy damnable faces and begin . Come ...
... father's murder and so cause his uncle to acknowl- edge his crime . Its character as parody is indicated by Hamlet's impatient exclamation to the actor who comes on as the murderer : “ Pox , leave thy damnable faces and begin . Come ...
Página 32
... father , Polonius , which takes the action to its finish . The audience would recognize these reprises and wait for the turn Shakespeare would put on them . What he did was employ them all with a difference — make the play - within ...
... father , Polonius , which takes the action to its finish . The audience would recognize these reprises and wait for the turn Shakespeare would put on them . What he did was employ them all with a difference — make the play - within ...
Página 36
... father's ghost , an enterprise that may be judged only partly successful . Shakespeare does not reveal Hamlet's state of mind in the nunnery scene , does not make evident what he really feels about Ophelia , what he knows or doesn't ...
... father's ghost , an enterprise that may be judged only partly successful . Shakespeare does not reveal Hamlet's state of mind in the nunnery scene , does not make evident what he really feels about Ophelia , what he knows or doesn't ...
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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Palavras e frases frequentes
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