Includes bibliographical references (pages [169]-184) and index.
Contents:
Acknowledgements -- Texts and titles -- Introduction : 'Were my mind settled, I would not essay but resolve myself' -- Knowing and being in Montaigne and Shakespeare --`A little thing doth divert and turn us' : Fictions, mourning, and playing in `of diverting or diversion' and 'Hamlet' -- Mingled yarns and hybrid worlds : `We taste nothing purely', 'Measure for Measure', and 'All's Well That Ends Well' --`We are both father and mother together in this generation' : Physical and intellectual creations in `of the affection of fathers to their children' and 'King Lear' --Custom, otherness, and the fictions of mastery : `Of the Caniballes' and 'The Tempest' -- Epilogue : Shakespeare before the 'Essays' -- Works cited -- Index.
Summary:
"Argues that the 'Essais' of Montaigne were a crucial factor in the composition of later Shakespearean drama. In this revisionist study, Peter G. Platt provides a detailed history of the literary-critical interest in the Montaigne-Shakespeare connection from the eighteenth century to the present day. Through sustained close readings of Montaigne's essays and Shakespeare's plays, Platt explores both authors' approaches to self, knowledge and form that stress fractures, interruptions and alternatives. While the change in monarchy, the revived interest in judicial rhetoric and the alterations in Shakespeare's acting company helped shape plays such as 'Measure for Measure', 'King Lear' and 'The Tempest', this book contends that Shakespeare's reading of Montaigne is an under-recognised driving force in these later plays."--taken from back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.