Shakespeare's Tragic SkepticismReaders 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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Page xvi
... Lives , both of which he knew in contemporary English trans- lations , and Raphael Holinshed's historical chronicles of English and Scottish history . I have chosen to quote from John Florio's edi- tion of the Essayes ( 1603 ) , Thomas ...
... Lives , both of which he knew in contemporary English trans- lations , and Raphael Holinshed's historical chronicles of English and Scottish history . I have chosen to quote from John Florio's edi- tion of the Essayes ( 1603 ) , Thomas ...
Page 10
... were issued urging their return to their rural homes to maintain the immemorial order and separa- tions of the commonwealth , for , as King James himself said in 1616 , ' as every fish lives in his own place , ΙΟ Introduction.
... were issued urging their return to their rural homes to maintain the immemorial order and separa- tions of the commonwealth , for , as King James himself said in 1616 , ' as every fish lives in his own place , ΙΟ Introduction.
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Millicent Bell. ' as every fish lives in his own place , some in the fresh , some in the salt , some in the mud : so let everyone live in his own place , some at Court , some in the Citie , some in the Country . " Yet even for the ...
Millicent Bell. ' as every fish lives in his own place , some in the fresh , some in the salt , some in the mud : so let everyone live in his own place , some at Court , some in the Citie , some in the Country . " Yet even for the ...
Page 24
... lives . Shakespeare works not only to promote the erasure of motive and destabilize character , to disconnect plot and make events inexplicable , and to deny the reliability of human impres- sions . He also lets us hold onto a sense of ...
... lives . Shakespeare works not only to promote the erasure of motive and destabilize character , to disconnect plot and make events inexplicable , and to deny the reliability of human impres- sions . He also lets us hold onto a sense of ...
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Contents
Hamlet Revenge | 29 |
Othellos Jealousy | 80 |
Unaccommodated Lear | 138 |
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 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 Holinshed 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 Roman 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