A Buddhist's Shakespeare: Affirming Self-deconstructions"In this argument, Howe applies his Buddhist perspective to some key ideas of neo-Marxists, Michel Foucault, and new historicists concerning the relations between literature and society. This perspective provides new challenges to the Marxist view that society necessarily determines our consciousness, Foucault's position that everyone in society is necessarily enclosed within a power field of competing and therefore oppositional interests, and the new historicist position that a society's established authority maintains itself in part by legitimating dissent in order to contain it. Howe proposes instead the possibility of a non-oppositional, nonideological posture in which one can stand apart from the class oppositions of Marx, the power field of Foucault, and the containment of dissent alleged by many new historicists, yet in a way which actually reduces the misery caused by social injustice." "Engaging contemporary theoretical debate, Howe draws a parallel between Jacques Derrida's ideas about "differance" - in which "presence" occurs only in "absence" - and the Buddhist idea of shunyata, the fullness of emptiness. He also shows the similarities between Derrida's and Buddhism's critiques of reason and language.". |
From inside the book
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Page 27
... person who joins this discourse seems almost automatically to confirm his subordinate status . Stephen Greenblatt generalizes from his study of Thomas More that this is true even when a play is being subversive : " The theater pays ...
... person who joins this discourse seems almost automatically to confirm his subordinate status . Stephen Greenblatt generalizes from his study of Thomas More that this is true even when a play is being subversive : " The theater pays ...
Page 28
... person . Of course the court applauds his play . However , his deficiencies also work in the opposite direction . For instance , at each moment during the casting of Pyramus and Thisby he would like to be whatever role is being ...
... person . Of course the court applauds his play . However , his deficiencies also work in the opposite direction . For instance , at each moment during the casting of Pyramus and Thisby he would like to be whatever role is being ...
Page 32
... person of Theseus , a particularly arbitrary situation because Theseus himself has won his betrothed Hippolyta by defeating her in battle , and has a varied sexual history as well ( according to Oberon : 2.1.76-80 ) . Male force rules ...
... person of Theseus , a particularly arbitrary situation because Theseus himself has won his betrothed Hippolyta by defeating her in battle , and has a varied sexual history as well ( according to Oberon : 2.1.76-80 ) . Male force rules ...
Page 36
... person to do these things . His belief in his identity as a consistently rational and fair person is necessary for his own self- legitimation as head of an arbitrary hierarchical order . But it is true neither to his past ( especially ...
... person to do these things . His belief in his identity as a consistently rational and fair person is necessary for his own self- legitimation as head of an arbitrary hierarchical order . But it is true neither to his past ( especially ...
Page 37
... person used to more sophisticated performances . He is wrong . It is precisely because it need not be taken seriously that Theseus will ... hear that play ; For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it . ( 5.1.81 ...
... person used to more sophisticated performances . He is wrong . It is precisely because it need not be taken seriously that Theseus will ... hear that play ; For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it . ( 5.1.81 ...
Contents
27 | |
Awakening The Sword of Prajna in the Visual Arts and in Richard III | 51 |
The Merchant of Venice as Sword of Prajna | 74 |
The Cause of Suffering and the Birth of Compassion in Julius Caesar | 96 |
The Emptiness of Differenceand the Six Samsaric Realms in Antony and Cleopatra | 114 |
Prince Hals Deferral as the Ground of Free Play | 146 |
Further Glimpses of Free Play in Hamlet and King Lear | 168 |
The Tempest | 191 |
Common terms and phrases
actor affirmation Antony and Cleopatra Antony's argues art of resemblance artists audience authority awareness Bassanio becomes believe Bottom Brutus Brutus's Buddhist Buddhist view character Chögyam Trungpa choose consciousness context conventional create death deconstruction deferred Derrida desire différance discourse dramatic Duccio Elizabethan emphasizes emptiness enacts example experience fact Falstaff Foucault give Greenblatt Hal's Hamlet Holbein honor Hotspur human idea identity illusion implications interpretation Jonathan Dollimore Julius Caesar king Lear lovers metadramatic Midsummer Night's Dream nature nirvana Noble ourselves painting perspective play play's point of view political Portia Prajna present prince Prospero Pyramus and Thisby realistic reality relationship Renaissance representation Richard role Roman Roy Strong samsara scene seems self-image sense Shakespeare shows Shylock situation stage Stephen Greenblatt Stephen Orgel style subversion sunyata Tennenhouse texts theater theatrical Theseus things tion transparent Trungpa truth University Press vantage point viewer visual arts
Popular passages
Page 29 - I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, — past the wit of man to say what dream it was : man is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream.