Reading Shakespeare's Will: The Theology of Figure from Augustine to the SonnetsColumbia University Press, 2002 - 384 pages The most influential treatments of Shakespeare's Sonnets have ignored the impact of theology on his poetics, examining instead the poet's "secular" emphasis on psychology and subjectivity. Reading Shakespeare's Will offers the first systematic account of the theology behind the poetry. Investigating the poetic stakes of Christianity's efforts to assimilate Jewish scripture, the book reads Shakespeare through the history of Christian allegory. To "read Shakespeare's will," Freinkel argues, is to read his bequest to and from a literary history saturated by religious doctrine. Freinkel thus challenges the common equation of subjectivity with secularity, and defines Shakespeare's poetic voice in theological rather than psychoanalytic terms. Tracing from Augustine to Luther the religious legacy that informs Shakespeare's work, Freinkel suggests that we cannot properly understand his poetry without recognizing it as a response to Luther's Reformation. Delving into the valences and repercussions of this response, Reading Shakespeare's Will charts the notion of a "theology of figure" that helped to shape the themes, tropes, and formal structures of Renaissance literature and thought. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 18
Page 7
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 176
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 202
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 203
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 206
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Other editions - View all
Reading Shakespeare's Will: The Theology of Figure from Augustine to the Sonnets Lisa Freinkel No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
allegory ambiguity anti-Semitism argues argument Augus Augustine Augustine's Augustinian Bassanio beauty becomes book called Shakespeare's canker casket catachresis chiasmus Christ Christian cites Confessions context critics critique Danson defines deixis discourse discussion distinction doctrine edition Erasmus ethics Eucharist eyes fair faith figural Fineman flesh and spirit fulfillment Giovene donna Halpern insofar interpretation language letter literally logic Lover's Complaint Luther lyric Marcion meaning medieval Merchant of Venice modern Mont Ventoux Morocco Moses narrative nonetheless notion Old Testament ornament paradox Paul Paul's Petrarch play poems poet poet's poetic poetry Portia precisely present problem procreation sonnets promise proper psalm question reader reading reference Reformation reveals rose sacrament Scripture sense Shakespeare's Sonnets Shylock signified sonnet 18 sonnet 35 structure sweet tells temporal Tertullian textual things thou tion tradition translation trope truth turn ultimately veil voice writes written young man's Zwingli