Shakespeare's Mad Men : A Crisis of Authority / Richard van Oort.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Van Oort, Richard, author.

Series:

Square one (Series)

Square One

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Characters.

Shakespeare, William.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. King Lear.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Measure for measure.

Characters and characteristics in literature.

English drama--17th century--History and criticism.

English drama.

Ethics in literature.

Measure for measure (Shakespeare, William).

Mentally ill in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (305 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, [2023]

Summary:

This book is about a mad king and a mad duke. With original and iconoclastic readings, Richard van Oort pioneers the reading of Shakespeare as an ethical thinker of the "originary scene," the scene in which humans became conscious of themselves as symbol-using moral and narrative beings. Taking King Lear and Measure for Measure as case studies, van Oort shows how the minimal concept of an anthropological scene of origin—the "originary hypothesis"—provides the basis for a new understanding of every aspect of the plays, from the psychology of the characters to the ethical and dialogical conflicts upon which the drama is based. The result is a gripping commentary on the plays. Why does Lear abdicate and go mad? Why does Edgar torture his father with non-recognition? Why does Lucio accuse the Duke in Measure for Measure of madness and lechery, and why does Isabella remain silent at the end? In approaching these and other questions from the perspective of the originary hypothesis, van Oort helps us to see the ethical predicament of the plays, and, in the process, makes Shakespeare new again.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1 The King’s Last Potlatch

2 The Judge, the Duke, His Wife, and Her Lover

Conclusion

Afterword

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781503633582

1503633586

OCLC:

1350572478