In this distinctive study, Nicholas Luke explores the abiding power of Shakespeare's tragedies by suggesting an innovative new model of his character creation. Rather than treating characters as presupposed beings, Luke shows how they arrive as something more than functional dramatis personae - how they come to life as 'subjects' - through Shakespeare's orchestration of transformational dramatic events. Moving beyond dominant critical modes, Luke combines compelling close readings of Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear with an accessible analysis of thinkers such as Badiou, Žižek, Bergson, Whitehead and Latour, and the 'adventist' Christian tradition flowing from Saint Paul through Luther to Kierkegard. Representing a significant intervention into the way we encounter Shakespeare's tragic figures, the book argues for a subjectivity which is not singular or abiding, but perilous and leaping.
Format: Paperback / softback
CONTRIBUTORS: Nicholas Luke
EAN: 9781108433822
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
PAGES:
WEIGHT: 390 g
HEIGHT: 218 cm
PUBLISHED BY: Cambridge University Press
DATE PUBLISHED: 2022-06-23
CITY:
GENRE: LITERARY CRITICISM / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
WIDTH: 150 cm
SPINE:
Book Themes:
English, Relating to Shakespeare / Shakespearean, Literary studies: general, Literary studies: c 1600 to c 1800, Literary studies: plays and playwrights
'The book is at its best, its most exciting and enjoyable, when focused on the texts at hand, which Luke makes new. There is a great deal to value here, especially for those who are looking for a philosophical and theoretical consideration of character as exemplified by Shakespearean tragedy. Shakespearean Arrivals is sure to excite debate and to force a reconsideration of character as dynamic and multiple, shifting and changing, and, hence, new.' Cristina León Alfar, Renaissance Quarterly, 'The book is at its best, its most exciting and enjoyable, when focused on the texts at hand, which Luke makes new. There is a great deal to value here, especially for those who are looking for a philosophical and theoretical consideration of character as exemplified by Shakespearean tragedy. Shakespearean Arrivals is sure to excite debate and to force a reconsideration of character as dynamic and multiple, shifting and changing, and, hence, new.' Cristina León Alfar, Renaissance Quarterly
Nicholas Luke is an Australian Rhodes Scholar with degrees in Law and the Arts. He is a Research Fellow at the University of Queensland Node of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (Europe, 1100–1800).
