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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... the last of the three, is 'ironical'. If these plays can be called comedies, for Dowden they constitute a special kind of comedy. Moreover, within the grouping, Troilus and Cressida Concepts and Perspectives: Why Problem Plays?
Vivian Thomas. kind of comedy. Moreover, within the grouping, Troilus and Cressida is the strangest and least amenable to being encompassed by any definition of comedy. Nevertheless, despite misgivings, Dowden believes Troilus and ...
... .8 Here the problems in the plays are seen as perplexing, and open to varying ethical interpretations. Moreover, the problems may be abstract but they are embodied in and acted out through tensions encountered by the characters who find.
... Moreover, he recognises that they belong to a genre which inevitably excludes Hamlet. Peter Ure, writing in 1961, reverted to a quartet of plays by excluding Hamlet from the group but including Timon of Athens. He declined to provide a ...
... Moreover, the Roman plays have powerful connections with the English history plays, especially the consideration of morality and ambition in the political sphere. Schanzer's comments on individual plays are valuable, but for the present ...
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 | |