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Shakespeare's Ideas
More Things in Heaven and Earth
"Lucid, wise and finely balanced, David Bevington's exploration of the ideas at work in Shakespeare is essential reading for beginners and experts alike." "Shakespeare’s Ideas offers all that we have come to expect of David Bevington. I cannot think of a better, more judicious scholar to guide us through the complexities of Shakespeare’s political and moral philosophy." "The fruit of a half-century of teaching and thinking with Shakespeare, David Bevington's well-judged and genuinely informative account of Shakespeare's thought demonstrates his trademark circumspection and thoroughgoing sensitivity to the complexity and variety of the plays' questions. Useful no matter what degree your acquaintance with the Bard."
–Alexander Leggatt, Professor Emeritus of English, University of Toronto
–James Schiffer, SUNY New Paltz
–Claire McEachern, University of California, Los Angeles
David Bevington (Author)
9781405167956, Wiley
Hardback, published 1 August 2008
256 pages
23.6 x 16 x 2.5 cm, 0.535 kg
"Bevington sees a development in how important Shakespeare felt certain topics were, and so the structure of the book is both chronological and thematic, beginning with the early romances and ending with the dark eschatology of the last plays." (English, December 2010) Bevington's newest book wears its considerable erudition lightly and, for the most part, well. Bevington (Univ. of Chicago) begins by pointing out that one cannot know the thoughts of Shakespeare the man, but that the plays and poems, looked at as a whole, do present a kind of philosophy--one of balance and moderation. Chapters on sex and gender, politics, writing, religion, and other topics all suggest that though Shakespeare created characters with extreme and wide-ranging views, the world of the plays (and thus perhaps of Shakespeare himself) rewards compassion, understanding, forgiveness, duty, and above all, love. In general, this is not a book for scholars; Bevington does not offer highly theoretical readings or bring up scholarly debates about meaning and textuality. But his immense knowledge of the plays and the era allow him to present complex ideas in an engaging, completely readable manner that will appeal to all readers, no matter their background. Though it offers nothing new to those who study the plays for a living, everyone else will find it a masterpiece of thoughtful investigation into the plays. "It's an absorbing journey, and one that will fascinate both general readers and serious scholars alike." (Yorkshire Evening Post, October 2008)
"A personal and passionate reading of the author, unwilling to look for conclusions where there are none. Humane, wise and almost infuriatingly judicious, Shakespeare's Ideas celebrates the plurality inherent to Shakespeare's works and the expansive mind behind them." (Times Literary Supplement, February 2009)
Summing Up: Essential. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, general readers. -- A. Castaldo, Widener University (Choice, February 2009)
An in-depth exploration, through his plays and poems, of the philosophy of Shakespeare as a great poet, a great dramatist and a "great mind".
Acknowledgements ix 1 A Natural Philosopher 1 2 Lust in Action 3 What is Honour? 4 Hold the Mirror Up to Nature 5 What Form of Prayer Can Serve My Turn? 6 Is Man No More Than This? 7 Here Our Play Has Ending 8 Credo 213 Further Reading 218 Index 227
Shakespeare's Ideas on Sex and Gender 15
Shakespeare's Ideas on Politics and Political Theory 42
Shakespeare's Ideas on Writing and Acting 74
Shakespeare’s Ideas on Religious Controversy and Issues of Faith 106
Shakespeare's Ideas on Scepticism, Doubt, Stoicism, Pessimism, Misanthropy 143
Ideas of Closure in the Late Plays 177
Subject Areas: Sociology & anthropology [JH]
