The Shakespeare Play as Poem
A Critical Tradition in Perspective

A balanced critique of the reading of Shakespeare's plays as dramatic poems.

S. Viswanathan (Author)

9780521129183, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 February 2010

248 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.4 cm, 0.32 kg

The dominant trend in the criticism of Shakespeare since the late 1920s has been the interpretation of the plays as dramatic poems. Dr Viswanathan provides a balanced critique as well as a comprehensive history of this movement. The book concludes by discussing the relationship between criticism and historical scholarship, and the conflict between 'literalists' and 'allegorists' in modern literary criticism, and advocates an eclectic approach. The book indicates the importance of Shakespearian criticism as part of the cultural and literary history of the age, showing the contribution to other disciplines such as philosophy and psychology. The book is thoroughly documented, and will be a useful reference work to scholars and students of Shakespeare and of twentieth-century literary criticism.

Acknowledgements
Preface
Abbreviations and usages
1. Modern Shakespeare criticism: a pattern in the carpet
2. The rise of the poetic interpretation of Shakespeare: the background and influences
3. The 'spatial' interpretation of Wilson Knight (I)
4. The 'spatial' interpretation of Wilson Knight (II)
5. The 'thematics' of L. C. Knights: drama as 'moral experiment'
6. The study of Shakespeare's imagery: Spurgeon and after
7. Conclusion
Appendix
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]