Fraught Decisions in Plato and Shakespeare (Hardcover)

In the reincarnation myth in Book X of Plato's Republic, the unnamed first soul, who has lived a good life and has been rewarded in the afterlife, chooses a new life and fate, and chooses catastrophically badly. He finds himself fated to eat his own children. Despite being warned to blame only himself, he wails and blames anything and everything else in his conviction that his fate is undeserved. Though he should not be shocked because he has made this choice himself, he is incredulous because he has completely misunderstood the nature of his choice. Starting with Plato's myth, this book looks at the errors this soul has made and considers these errors through both the Republic and a series of paired Shakespeare plays. Reading the Republic along with Othello and The Comedy of Errors, the first section focuses on the misreading of comedy and tragedy in the life of the individual; returning to the Republic and using The Merchant of Venice and Pericles, Part II focuses on the broadened context of the misuse of political and economic forces; returning again to the Republic and reading Timon of Athens and Measure for Measure, Part III focuses on the broadest context, the misunderstanding of the inseparability of birth and infinite debt. The hope of the text, and the hope of human life, is to help us avoid choosing lives that devour what we most love.

General

Imprint:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Philosophical Projections
Release date:	November 2020
Authors:	Dianne Rothleder
Dimensions:	229 x 161 x 26mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Cloth over boards
Pages:	274
ISBN-13:	978-1-78661-627-2
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Plays & playwrights > 16th to 18th centuries > Shakespeare studies & criticism Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Ancient Western philosophy to c 500 > General Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Ancient Western philosophy to c 500 > General
LSN:	1-78661-627-0
Barcode:	9781786616272

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!