Shakespeare's Tragic SkepticismYale University Press, 01.10.2008 - 304 Seiten 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. |
Im Buch
Ergebnisse 1-5 von 48
Seite 8
... murdered . There is relief when Horatio , in such exquisite fashion , welcomes the “ morn in russet mantle clad [ who ] ... murder , the moon is down , as Fleance observes to Banquo , and he has not heard the clock . All heaven's " candles ...
... murdered . There is relief when Horatio , in such exquisite fashion , welcomes the “ morn in russet mantle clad [ who ] ... murder , the moon is down , as Fleance observes to Banquo , and he has not heard the clock . All heaven's " candles ...
Seite 30
... Murder of Gonzago , " which the company of strolling players soon puts on according to Hamlet's instruc- tion . This is , apparently , another Revenge Tragedy , as the type is called - one , like Kyd's , with a Spanish setting - but it ...
... Murder of Gonzago , " which the company of strolling players soon puts on according to Hamlet's instruc- tion . This is , apparently , another Revenge Tragedy , as the type is called - one , like Kyd's , with a Spanish setting - but it ...
Seite 31
... Murder of Gonzago ” is , I would say , a fictitious play in- vented by Shakespeare as an example of the kind of dramatic enter- tainment he makes fun of at various points in Hamlet . Though Hamlet is supposed to have added some lines ...
... Murder of Gonzago ” is , I would say , a fictitious play in- vented by Shakespeare as an example of the kind of dramatic enter- tainment he makes fun of at various points in Hamlet . Though Hamlet is supposed to have added some lines ...
Seite 34
... Murder of Gonzago " challenges the objective status of events that are supposed to have preceded those we have been permitted to witness directly . It also reminds us that these later visible events are themselves the 34 Hamlet , Revenge !
... Murder of Gonzago " challenges the objective status of events that are supposed to have preceded those we have been permitted to witness directly . It also reminds us that these later visible events are themselves the 34 Hamlet , Revenge !
Seite 37
... murder . In these other two earliest editions , her complicity remains an unresolved possibility . It is only in the First Quarto , also , that a stage direction says that Hamlet actually jumps into Ophelia's open grave to wrestle with ...
... murder . In these other two earliest editions , her complicity remains an unresolved possibility . It is only in the First Quarto , also , that a stage direction says that Hamlet actually jumps into Ophelia's open grave to wrestle with ...
Inhalt
1 | |
29 | |
2 Othellos Jealousy | 80 |
3 Unaccommodated Lear | 138 |
4 Macbeths Deeds | 191 |
The Roman Frame | 241 |
Selected Bibliography | 279 |
Andere Ausgaben - Alle anzeigen
Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen
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