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 xi
... seen adequately as the opera- tion of a benevolent moral order in which human choice always plays a role . Nor as the consequence of blind accident , either . Critics have rarely admitted that Shakespeare leaves the dilemma unresolved ...
... seen adequately as the opera- tion of a benevolent moral order in which human choice always plays a role . Nor as the consequence of blind accident , either . Critics have rarely admitted that Shakespeare leaves the dilemma unresolved ...
Page 4
... seen in the four great tragedies in which the will to belief in universal coherence and meaning struggles , often unsuccessfully , against skepticism . The title I finally settled on , Shakespeare's Tragic Skepticism , stresses more ...
... seen in the four great tragedies in which the will to belief in universal coherence and meaning struggles , often unsuccessfully , against skepticism . The title I finally settled on , Shakespeare's Tragic Skepticism , stresses more ...
Page 18
... seen Florio's Montaigne before it got into print but after it had been entered into the Stationer's Rolls in 1600. The general trade in manuscripts , it is now believed , had not yet been displaced by the sale of printed books . And ...
... seen Florio's Montaigne before it got into print but after it had been entered into the Stationer's Rolls in 1600. The general trade in manuscripts , it is now believed , had not yet been displaced by the sale of printed books . And ...
Page 19
... seen Raleigh's translation of the Hypotyposes of Sex- tus Empiricus . It was circulating — also in manuscript — as early as 1591 , when one of the " university wits " Shakespeare undoubtedly knew , Thomas Nashe , read it . The clever ...
... seen Raleigh's translation of the Hypotyposes of Sex- tus Empiricus . It was circulating — also in manuscript — as early as 1591 , when one of the " university wits " Shakespeare undoubtedly knew , Thomas Nashe , read it . The clever ...
Page 35
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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