Shakespeare's Tragic Skepticism [Hardcover]

Ms. Millicent Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

Readers of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies have long noted the absence of readily explainable motivations for some of Shakespeare's greatest characters: why does Hamlet delay his revenge for so long? Why does King Lear choose to renounce his power? Why is Othello so vulnerable to Iago's malice? But while many critics have chosen to overlook these omissions or explain them away, Millicent Bell demonstrates that they are essential elements of Shakespeare's philosophy of doubt. Examining the major tragedies, Millicent Bell reveals the persistent strain of philosophical scepticism. Like his contemporary, Montaigne, Shakespeare repeatedly calls attention to the essential unknowability of our world. In a period of social, political and religious upheaval, uncertainty hovered over matters great and small - the succession of the crown, the death of loved ones from plague, the failure of a harvest. Tumultuous social conditions raised ultimate questions for Shakespeare, Bell argues, and ultimately provoked in him a scepticism which casts shadows of existential doubt over his greatest masterpieces.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Although chiefly a specialist in American literature who has authored books on J.P. Marquand and Henry James and has edited the Library of America edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novels, Bell (English, Boston Univ.) offers a perceptive and illuminating examination of Shakespeare's tragedies. Focusing on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth and the Roman tragedies Julius Caesar and Anthony and Cleopatra that frame them, Bell observes that Shakespeare's tragedies often place conflicting and contradictory ideas that cannot be resolved into the unified vision of a coherent universe. These contradictions, she argues, are not a matter of compositional carelessness, New Critical ambiguity, or postmodernist aporia but Shakespeare's expression of a philosophical skepticism. While influenced by New Historicism, Bell further argues that this skepticism goes beyond the ideologies of its time to question the ideas of self, identity, causality, and motivation. Her treatment is thoroughly versed in both Shakespearean criticism and literary theory without being heavy-handed or pedantic, yet it is illuminating and accessible to the general reader. Recommended for academic and public libraries.
T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong Atlantic State Univ., Savannah, GA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A lucid tour...The book's critical value, like its author's boundless energy, goes undoubted. -- Christopher Martin, Bostonia

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1st ptg. edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300092555
• ISBN-13: 978-0300092554
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,099,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent criticism, March 5, 2006

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This review is from: Shakespeare's Tragic Skepticism (Hardcover)

It is not easy to say anything new about Shakespeare's plays, but these are intelligent essays by someone who has spent years thinking sensitively about them. It is indeed interesting to reflect that Shakespeare removes the motives for action given in his sources and deliberately works to create a sense of uncertainty.Plenty to think about.