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 14
... truth , like mathematical proofs , were practically attainable . Francis Bacon aspired , with his grand in- ductive program , to the ultimate restitution of " moral certainty , " a concept borrowed from theology by which one might be ...
... truth , like mathematical proofs , were practically attainable . Francis Bacon aspired , with his grand in- ductive program , to the ultimate restitution of " moral certainty , " a concept borrowed from theology by which one might be ...
Page 16
... truth might seem — a thought that prevails in Othello . About disbelief in witches as a test of one's readiness to set aside irrational ideas , Montaigne was cautious . He does say , in the essay " Of the Force of Imagination , " " It ...
... truth might seem — a thought that prevails in Othello . About disbelief in witches as a test of one's readiness to set aside irrational ideas , Montaigne was cautious . He does say , in the essay " Of the Force of Imagination , " " It ...
Page 21
... truth is deducible from appear- ances is the same unease expressed in Othello . But in the " apologie of Raymond Sebond " Montaigne repeats examples given by early skeptics like Cornelius Agrippa and Sextus that a flat painting can ...
... truth is deducible from appear- ances is the same unease expressed in Othello . But in the " apologie of Raymond Sebond " Montaigne repeats examples given by early skeptics like Cornelius Agrippa and Sextus that a flat painting can ...
Page 36
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Page 40
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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