The Moral Universe of Shakespeare's Problem PlaysWhat is it that makes Shakespeare’s problem plays problematic? Many critics have sought for the underlying vision or message of these puzzling and disturbing dramas. Originally published in 1987, the key to Viv Thomas’s new synthesis of the plays is the idea of fracture and dissolution in the universe. From the collapse of ‘degree’ in Troilus and Cressida to the corruption at the heart of innocence in Measure for Measure, to the puzzling status of virtue and valour in All’s Well, the most obvious feature of these plays in their capacity to prompt new questions. In a detailed discussion of each play in turn, the author traces the dominant themes that both distinguish and unite them, and provides numerous insights into the sources, background, texture and morality of the plays. |
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... Criseyde are from Nevill Coghill's Penguin edition. All other quotations and references to Shakespeare's source materials are drawn from Geoffrey Bullough's invaluable Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare, volumes II and VI ...
... Criseyde, along with Henryson's sequel, The Testament of Cresseid, which up to 1721 was printed as Chaucer's (though Shakespeare probably detected the different authorship). For the war story Shakespeare's main sources were almost ...
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Contents
Wholeness and Division in Troilus and Cressida | |
Virtue and Honour in Alls Well that Ends Well | |
Order and Authority in Measure for Measure | |
Conclusion | |
Bibliography | |