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. |
No interior do livro
Resultados 1-5 de 83
Página 16
... say , in the essay “ Of the Force of Imagination , " " It is very likely that the prin- cipall credit of visions , of ... says also , in another essay , “ It Is Folly to Referre Truth or Falsehood to Our Sufficiencie , " It is not ...
... say , in the essay “ Of the Force of Imagination , " " It is very likely that the prin- cipall credit of visions , of ... says also , in another essay , “ It Is Folly to Referre Truth or Falsehood to Our Sufficiencie , " It is not ...
Página 27
... says that he fears Banquo , and observes , “ My genius is rebuked , as it is said , / Mark Antony's was by Caesar ” — referring to a remark in Antony and Cleopatra . This play may have been completed shortly after Macbeth ; it bears ...
... says that he fears Banquo , and observes , “ My genius is rebuked , as it is said , / Mark Antony's was by Caesar ” — referring to a remark in Antony and Cleopatra . This play may have been completed shortly after Macbeth ; it bears ...
Página 34
... says in As You Like It . Life is “ a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage , ” as Macbeth says . The idea was an old one . The Globe Playhouse is supposed to have displayed on a sign the words “ Totus mun- dus agit ...
... says in As You Like It . Life is “ a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage , ” as Macbeth says . The idea was an old one . The Globe Playhouse is supposed to have displayed on a sign the words “ Totus mun- dus agit ...
Página 37
... says that Hamlet actually jumps into Ophelia's open grave to wrestle with Laertes , a detail that af- fects our view of Hamlet's personality at so late a moment , empha- sizing the startling breakdown of his composure , the revelation ...
... says that Hamlet actually jumps into Ophelia's open grave to wrestle with Laertes , a detail that af- fects our view of Hamlet's personality at so late a moment , empha- sizing the startling breakdown of his composure , the revelation ...
Página 45
... says , “ a man's life's no more than to say , ' one . ' ” We never advance from the count of one to a sequent " two . " A skepticism that may reflect Montaigne and even anticipates Hume in its indifference to commonsense presump- tions ...
... says , “ a man's life's no more than to say , ' one . ' ” We never advance from the count of one to a sequent " two . " A skepticism that may reflect Montaigne and even anticipates Hume in its indifference to commonsense presump- tions ...
Índice
1 | |
29 | |
2 Othellos Jealousy | 80 |
3 Unaccommodated Lear | 138 |
4 Macbeths Deeds | 191 |
The Roman Frame | 241 |
Selected Bibliography | 279 |
Outras edições - Ver tudo
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