Shakespeare and the Nature of Man (Cambridge Library Collection - Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama) - Softcover

Spencer, Theodore

Softcover

ISBN 10: 110800377X ISBN 13: 9781108003773

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2009

Synopsis

Analysing Shakespeare's historical background and craft, Spencer's 1943 study investigates the intellectual debates of Shakespeare's age, and the effect these had on the drama of the time. The book outlines the key conflict present in the sixteenth century – the optimistic ideal of man's place in the universe, as presented by the theorists of the time, set against the indisputable and ever-present fact of original sin. This conflict about the nature of man, argues Spencer, is perhaps the deepest underlying cause for the emergence of great Renaissance drama. With detailed reference to Shakespeare's great tragedies, the book demonstrates how Shakespeare presents the fact of evil masked by the appearance of good. Shakespeare's last plays, especially The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, are also analysed in detail to show how they embody a different view from the tragedies, and the discussion is related to the larger perspective of general human experience.

About this title

Book Description:

Providing invaluable context to Shakespeare's work, Spencer examines the Renaissance conflict between the ideal picture of man and the given of original sin, and how this is expressed in Shakespeare's plays. This 1943 study demonstrates how this basic conflict underlies the emergence of great Renaissance drama.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 110800377X
• ISBN 13: 9781108003773
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256