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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... situation admitting of different ethical interpretations.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 ...
... situations. One point omitted by Lawrence is that, in order for the audience fully to engage the intellectual or moral problems, Shakespeare affords them a considerable degree of detachment. This is most obviously the case in the most ...
... situation by asserting that they share a sombreness of mood arising out of their interest in speculative thought and a psychological exploration that results in an intense sense of realism. Like other writers on the subject before him ...
... situations which raise conflicting ethical interpretations; the replacement of the strain of occasional melancholy which is found even in Shakespeare's most festive comedies by an urgently satirical and disfiguring temper; a willingness ...
... situation. The disasters of the past have not illuminated their difficulties in any way but press down upon them like a dead weight. Vienna seethes with a licentiousness that is a matter of concern to the Duke but which is hardly a ...
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 | |