Shakespeare's Ideas (eBook)

More Things in Heaven and Earth

David Bevington (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2009
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-1-4443-0274-5 (ISBN)

Infos

An in-depth exploration, through his plays and poems, of the philosophy of Shakespeare as a great poet, a great dramatist and a "e;great mind"e;. Written by a leading Shakespearean scholar Discusses an array of topics, including sex and gender, politics and political theory, writing and acting, religious controversy and issues of faith, skepticism and misanthropy, and closure Explores Shakespeare as a great poet, a great dramatist and a "e;great mind"e;

Autor

David Bevington is the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor the Humanities at the University of Chicago. His numerous publications include The Bantam Shakespeare, in 29 paperback volumes (1988, new edition forthcoming), and The Complete Works of Shakespeare (fifth edition, 2003), as well as the Oxford Shakespeare edition of Henry IV Part I (1987), the New Cambridge Shakespeare edition of Antony and Cleopatra (second edition, 2005), and the Arden Shakespeare edition of Troilus and Cressida (1998). He is the senior editor of the Revels Student Editions, and is a senior editor of the Revels Plays and of the forthcoming Cambridge edition of the works of Ben Jonson. He is also general editor of English Renaissance Drama: A Norton Anthology (2002), and the author of Shakespeare: The Seven Ages of Human Experience (second edition, Blackwell, 2005).

Inhalt

Acknowledgements ix

1 A Natural Philosopher 1

2 Lust in Action

Shakespeare's Ideas on Sex and Gender 15

3 What is Honour?

Shakespeare's Ideas on Politics and Political Theory 42

4 Hold the Mirror Up to Nature

Shakespeare's Ideas on Writing and Acting 74

5 What Form of Prayer Can Serve My Turn?

Shakespeare's Ideas on Religious Controversy and Issues
of Faith 106

6 Is Man No More Than This?

Shakespeare's Ideas on Scepticism, Doubt, Stoicism, Pessimism,
Misanthropy 143

7 Here Our Play Has Ending

Ideas of Closure in the Late Plays 177

8 Credo 213

Further Reading 218

Index 227

Rezensionen

"Bevington sees a development in how important Shakespeare felt
certain topics were, and so the structure of the book is both
chronological and thematic, beginning with the early romances and
ending with the dark eschatology of the last plays."
(English, December 2010)

"A personal and passionate reading of the author, unwilling to
look for conclusions where there are none. Humane, wise and almost
infuriatingly judicious, Shakespeare's Ideas celebrates the
plurality inherent to Shakespeare's works and the expansive mind
behind them." (Times Literary Supplement, February 2009)

Bevington's newest book wears its considerable erudition lightly
and, for the most part, well. Bevington (Univ. of Chicago) begins
by pointing out that one cannot know the thoughts of Shakespeare
the man, but that the plays and poems, looked at as a whole, do
present a kind of philosophy--one of balance and moderation.
Chapters on sex and gender, politics, writing, religion, and other
topics all suggest that though Shakespeare created characters with
extreme and wide-ranging views, the world of the plays (and thus
perhaps of Shakespeare himself) rewards compassion, understanding,
forgiveness, duty, and above all, love. In general, this is not a
book for scholars; Bevington does not offer highly theoretical
readings or bring up scholarly debates about meaning and
textuality. But his immense knowledge of the plays and the era
allow him to present complex ideas in an engaging, completely
readable manner that will appeal to all readers, no matter their
background. Though it offers nothing new to those who study the
plays for a living, everyone else will find it a masterpiece of
thoughtful investigation into the plays.

Summing Up: Essential. Lower- and upper-division
undergraduates, graduate students, general readers. -- A.
Castaldo, Widener University (Choice, February
2009)

"It's an absorbing journey, and one that will fascinate both
general readers and serious scholars alike." (Yorkshire Evening
Post, October 2008)

"Lucid, wise and finely balanced, David Bevington's exploration of
the ideas at work in Shakespeare is essential reading for beginners
and experts alike."

-Alexander Leggatt, Professor Emeritus of English,
University of Toronto

"Shakespeare's Ideas offers all that we have come
to expect of David Bevington. I cannot think of a better, more
judicious scholar to guide us through the complexities of
Shakespeare's political and moral philosophy."

-James Schiffer, SUNY New Paltz

"The fruit of a half-century of teaching and thinking with
Shakespeare, David Bevington's well-judged and genuinely
informative account of Shakespeare's thought demonstrates his
trademark circumspection and thoroughgoing sensitivity to the
complexity and variety of the plays' questions. Useful no matter
what degree your acquaintance with the Bard."

-Claire McEachern, University of California, Los
Angeles

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 22.1.2009
• Reihe/Serie: Blackwell Great Minds
• Reihe/Serie: Blackwell Great Minds
• Reihe/Serie: Blackwell Great Minds
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• Schlagworte: allembracing • Array • centuries • Commitment • continual debate • Deep • Englische Literatur / Shakespeare • Essays • Evidence • Faith • Four • Geschichte • History • history of ideas • Ideengeschichte • Intellectual • Literature • Literaturwissenschaft • Moral • multitudinous • Philosopher • Philosophical • Philosophie • Philosophy • PLAYS • Poems • Religious • responses • Sex • Shakespeare • Shakespeare, William • Themselves • Topics • Write
• ISBN-10: 1-4443-0274-4 / 1444302744
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4443-0274-5 / 9781444302745