The Critics Versus Shakspere

In this book, the author attempts to make sense of Shakespeare's critics and develop a view of Shakespeare's art. He analyses some of the major critical approaches to specific plays and inquires into the source of the range, variety, and contradictory nature of critical response.

A challenging critique of academic culture and its blindspots

Previous criticism has not adequately discussed oriental aspects of the content of Shakespearean drama. In addition to his portrayal of oriental figures (such as Cleopatra, Othello, and Shylock) and his use of literary genres and motifs that have roots in oriental tradition (such as that of the tragic romance in Romeo and Juliet, there are certain key elements in Shakespeare's thought and outlook that can only be properly understood within the larger contribution of the oriental legacy. This legacy has clear relevance not only to the exemplary fate of the lovers in Romeo and Juliet, but also to the destinies of such major Shakespearean heroes as Hamlet and Lear. Shakespeare, the Orient, and the Critics investigates the boundaries of oriental framework within works such as Hamlet, King Lear, and The Tempest. Stylistically, at the heart of Shakespeare's orientalism are two long-recognized features of his dramatic art: his predilection for reversing stereotypes and his sympathy and identification with the alien and the «other.» This can be most clearly seen in the love tragedies of Othello and Anthony and Cleopatra as well as the romantic comedy of The Merchant of Venice. Ultimately, the philosophic underpinning of such works is a special expression of Renaissance humanism that transcends the boundaries of class, race, and culture.

A genius and prophet whose timeless works encapsulate the human condition like no others. A writer who surpassed his contemporaries in vision, originality and literary mastery. Who wrote like an angel, putting it all so much better than anyone else. Is this Shakespeare? Well, sort of. But it doesn't really tell us the whole truth. So much of what we say about Shakespeare is either not true, or just not relevant, deflecting us from investigating the challenges of his inconsistencies and flaws. This electrifying new book thrives on revealing, not resolving, the ambiguities of Shakespeare's plays and their changing topicality. It introduces an intellectually, theatrically and ethically exciting writer who engages with intersectionality as much as with Ovid, with economics as much as poetry: who writes in strikingly modern ways about individual agency, privacy, politics, celebrity and sex. It takes us into a world of politicking and copy-catting, as we watch him emulating the blockbusters of Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd, the Spielberg and Tarantino of their day; flirting with and skirting round the cut-throat issues of succession politics, religious upheaval and technological change. The Shakespeare in this book poses awkward questions rather than offering bland answers, always implicating us in working out what it might mean. This is Shakespeare. And he needs your attention.

This open-minded study interrogates the notion of Shakespeare's plays as flawless masterpieces.

This detailed series provides comprehensive coverage of critical interpretations of the plays of Shakespeare. Volumes one through ten present critical overviews of each play and feature criticism from the 17th century to the present. Volumes 11-26 focus on the history of Shakespeares plays on the stage and in important film adaptations. Volumes 27-56 focus on criticism published after 1960 and provide readers with thematic approaches to Shakespeares works. Starting with Vol. 57, the series provides general criticism published since 1990 and historical criticism not featured in previous volumes on four to five plays or works per volume. Beginning with Vol. 60, the series replaced its annual compilation of essays representing the years most noteworthy Shakespearean scholarship with topic entries, comprised of essays that analyze various topics or themes found Shakespeares works. Approximately 90-95% of critical essays are full text. Each volume includes a cumulative character index, a topic index and a topic index arranged by play title.

The Critics Versus Shakespeare is a great literary criticism volume about the critical reaction to the works of William Shakespeare. "Ben Jonson said that Shakspeare "wanted art"; the highest appellate court decided that "Lear" was a greater work than Euripides or Sophocles ever produced. Voltaire, the presiding Justice in the court of French criticism, decided that Shakspere was "votre bizarre sauvage;" the world has reversed his decision, and everywhere, except perhaps in France, the "Henriade" is neglected for "Hamlet."