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 27
... killed i ' th ' capital , ” there could have been a shud- der of anticipation in seeing that this Polonius , soon to be killed by Hamlet , had been Caesar weeks before and that the leading actor vividly recalled as Brutus was now Hamlet ...
... killed i ' th ' capital , ” there could have been a shud- der of anticipation in seeing that this Polonius , soon to be killed by Hamlet , had been Caesar weeks before and that the leading actor vividly recalled as Brutus was now Hamlet ...
Página 39
... killed openly before witnesses at a banquet and who knows that vengeance is on its way unless he finishes off the probable avenger , and such a Hamlet could only hope to protect himself by pretending to be an idiot or a madman . After ...
... killed openly before witnesses at a banquet and who knows that vengeance is on its way unless he finishes off the probable avenger , and such a Hamlet could only hope to protect himself by pretending to be an idiot or a madman . After ...
Página 42
... killing him in a moment of repentant prayer will save his unworthy soul . What else but admiration is one supposed to feel for fire - eater Laertes ' prompt vow to " cut [ Hamlet's ] throat i ' th ' church , ” if necessary ? The ...
... killing him in a moment of repentant prayer will save his unworthy soul . What else but admiration is one supposed to feel for fire - eater Laertes ' prompt vow to " cut [ Hamlet's ] throat i ' th ' church , ” if necessary ? The ...
Página 43
... kill . The strategem of the " Mousetrap " does not produce further action . In any case , just be- fore the play is put on , Hamlet is before us with " To be or not to be . " The stop of suicide rather than the forward motion of re ...
... kill . The strategem of the " Mousetrap " does not produce further action . In any case , just be- fore the play is put on , Hamlet is before us with " To be or not to be . " The stop of suicide rather than the forward motion of re ...
Página 49
... killed his king and whored his mother , prevented his own election to the throne and even tried to have him killed , and he asks , as though such a ques- tion had not long been settled , “ is't not perfect conscience / To quit him with ...
... killed his king and whored his mother , prevented his own election to the throne and even tried to have him killed , and he asks , as though such a ques- tion had not long been settled , “ is't not perfect conscience / To quit him with ...
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