Bloom, model for the protagonist of Saul Bellow's latest novel,
Ravelstein, was the conservative American critic who challenged the
'dumbing down' of the American education system with his book The
Closing of the American Mind (1987). He saw America as dominated by
the mass media, popular culture and the claims of minorities and
set himself up as the protector of the high cultural tradition. In
this book, Bloom portrays Shakespeare as a towering figure who
could show human love in all its aspects. He analyses seven plays
in detail with reference to the problems of erotic connection,
supporting his argument with other (male) writers from the Western
tradition such as Plato, Homer, Nietzsche and Locke. The
controversial aspect of Bloom's account - and the one that
separates him from current ideas about literature - is that he
dismisses historical context as of little relevance compared to the
'permanent' questions about human dilemmas with which Shakespeare
engages. He has no time for literary theory. Great works are, for
Bloom, a mirror to nature not a way of transforming it and they
need 'submission', that is study and hard work. Yet ironically,
Bloom was allegedly a gay man who died from an AIDS-related
illness, and thus a member of one of the minorities which his books
attempt to sideline. The reader can detect Bloom's struggle
underlying the text: the need to 'place' his own sexuality without
giving in to the idea that he is 'radically isolated' and to
justify it as one of many flawed attempts by human beings to aspire
to Beauty. This book will appeal to readers who like surveys of
great literature from an Olympian perspective, such as George
Steiner's work. However, female readers and anyone who thinks
literature exists only within its historical context will find it
profoundly reactionary. (Kirkus UK)
"No one can make us love love as much as Shakespeare, and no one
can make us despair of it as effectively as he does." William
Shakespeare is the only classical author to remain widely
popular--not only in America but throughout the world--and Allan
Bloom argues that this is because no other writer holds up a truer
mirror to human nature. Unlike the Romantics and other moderns,
Shakespeare has no project for the betterment or salvation of
mankind--his poetry simply gives us eyes to see what is there. In
particular, we see the full variety of erotic connections, from the
"star-crossed" devotions of Romeo and Juliet to the failed romance
of Troilus and Cressida to the problematic friendship of Falstaff
and Hal.
This volume includes essays on five plays, "Romeo and Juliet,
Anthony and Cleopatra, Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, "
and "The Winter's Tale, " and within these Bloom meditates on
Shakespeare's work as a whole. He also draws on his formidable
knowledge of Plato, Rousseau, and others to bring both ancients and
moderns into the conversation. The result is a truly synoptic
treatment of eros--not only a philosophical reflection on
Shakespeare, but a survey of the human spirit and its tendency to
seek what Bloom calls the "connectedness" of love and friendship.
These highly original interpretations of the plays convey a deep
respect for their author and a deep conviction that we still have
much to learn from him. In Bloom's view, we live in a
love-impoverished age; he asks us to turn once more to Shakespeare
because the playwright gives us a rich version of what is permanent
in human nature without sharing our contemporary assumptions about
erotic love.
"Provocative and illuminating." --Michiko Kakutani, "New York
Times"
"A brilliant analysis of the erotic ugliness and the balancing
erotic grace of "The Winter's Tale" . . . and Bloom makes more
sense of "Measure for Measure"] than anyone else I have read." --A.
S. Byatt, "Washington Post Book World"
At his death in 1992, Allan Bloom was the John U. Nef Distinguished
Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the
University of Chicago. He is the author of several books, including
"Shakespeare's Politics" (with Harry V. Jaffa) and "The Closing of
the American Mind."
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