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. |
From inside the book
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... character from youth to full maturity'. 4 What, for Dowden, represents a change of mental state would, for modern scholars, constitute a movement in interest or style — an attempt to discern patterns and relationships within the drama ...
... character and action, in a situation admitting of different ethical interpretations.8 Here the problems in the plays ... characters who find.
Vivian Thomas. acted out through tensions encountered by the characters who find themselves trapped in specific ... character and psychological analysis for plot and theatricality; it substitutes dramatic falsity for dramatic truth ...
... character under the test of situations which raise conflicting ethical interpretations; the replacement of the ... characters applies much more accurately to Shakespeare's romances and applies not at all to Troilus and Cressida. And Ure ...
... characters to the overall dramatic design. Campbell becomes aware of the unsatisfactory nature of his analysis in the last page of his book where he refers to Shakespeare's 'temperamental unfitness for the composition of an effective ...
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 | |