Stages of madness : sin, sickness, and Seneca in Shakespearean drama / Andrew J. Power.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Power, Andrew J., 1977- author.

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mentally ill in literature.

Mental illness in literature.

Mental illness--England--History--16th century.

Mental illness.

Mental illness--England--History--17th century.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Characters--Mentally ill.

Shakespeare, William.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Stage history.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.

England.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

xiv, 162 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford : New York : Peter Lang, [2023]

Summary:

"In re-evaluating the contemporary staging of madness in the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries this book provides a clearer understanding and interpretation of characters who suffer from mental and emotional extremities in Shakespearean drama. It addresses three factors that contribute to early modern concepts of madness. These are theories of the 'self' current and emergent in the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries; contemporary medical writings on madness; and the legacy of portrayals of madness from classical Greek and Roman drama, with a particular focus on the Roman tragedian, Seneca. The more complete understanding that this combined approach provides facilitates a better-informed reading of Shakespeare's plays, plays that so often deal with mental and emotional extremities that were once thought of as 'madness'. Hamlet, Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, King Lear, Edgar, Othello, even Antipholous and Malvolio, are all characters for whom this work provides a better understanding"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

A Note on Quotations from Early Modern Sources

Introduction

Self, Sin and Justice

Medicine, Doctors and Hospitals

Classical Madness.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Power, Andrew J., 1977- Stages of madness

ISBN:

9783034308298

3034308299

OCLC:

1352482628

Publisher Number:

90101165175

40031905673