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 ix
... seems not to have been said before. As for the inevitable dependen- cies and derivations, everyone who has ever written about Shake- speare knows that it is really not possible to acknowledge fully the diverse influences of past ...
... seems not to have been said before. As for the inevitable dependen- cies and derivations, everyone who has ever written about Shake- speare knows that it is really not possible to acknowledge fully the diverse influences of past ...
Página x
... seems to have shared with Montaigne , his near - contemporary , not only general doubts of what had long been assumed about the universe and mankind but also doubt con- cerning the reliability of our own power to perceive and conclude ...
... seems to have shared with Montaigne , his near - contemporary , not only general doubts of what had long been assumed about the universe and mankind but also doubt con- cerning the reliability of our own power to perceive and conclude ...
Página 2
... seems almost to require no proof of itself , I shall argue that the plays flout traditional ideas about human ... seem to rely upon the commonsense logic that connects what happens with causes in circumstances and character ; after all ...
... seems almost to require no proof of itself , I shall argue that the plays flout traditional ideas about human ... seem to rely upon the commonsense logic that connects what happens with causes in circumstances and character ; after all ...
Página 3
... seems hardly secure . Troilus's question in Troilus and Cressida , “ What's aught but as ' tis valued ? " persists in his major tragedies despite Hector's answer to relativism , Value dwells not in particular will , It holds his ...
... seems hardly secure . Troilus's question in Troilus and Cressida , “ What's aught but as ' tis valued ? " persists in his major tragedies despite Hector's answer to relativism , Value dwells not in particular will , It holds his ...
Página 5
... seems , if we watch too closely , to be not one but a dozen separate persons — and only Shakespeare's incomparable way of giving all his hero's speech a certain tone keeps us from noticing . One of the secrets of his high poetry is the ...
... seems , if we watch too closely , to be not one but a dozen separate persons — and only Shakespeare's incomparable way of giving all his hero's speech a certain tone keeps us from noticing . One of the secrets of his high poetry is the ...
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