Download or read book Shakespeare s Brain written by Mary Thomas Crane and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-20 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here Mary Thomas Crane considers the brain as a site where body and culture meet to form the subject and its expression in language. Taking Shakespeare as her case study, she boldly demonstrates the explanatory power of cognitive theory--a theory which argues that language is produced by a reciprocal interaction of body and environment, brain and culture, and which refocuses attention on the role of the author in the making of meaning. Crane reveals in Shakespeare's texts a web of structures and categories through which meaning is created. The approach yields fresh insights into a wide range of his plays, including The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Measure for Measure, and The Tempest. ? Crane's cognitive reading traces the complex interactions of cultural and cognitive determinants of meaning as they play themselves out in Shakespeare's texts. She shows how each play centers on a word or words conveying multiple meanings (such as "act," "pinch," "pregnant," "villain and clown"), and how each cluster has been shaped by early modern ideological formations. The book also chronicles the playwright's developing response to the material conditions of subject formation in early modern England. Crane reveals that Shakespeare in his comedies first explored the social spaces within which the subject is formed, such as the home, class hierarchy, and romantic courtship. His later plays reveal a greater preoccupation with how the self is formed within the body, as the embodied mind seeks to make sense of and negotiate its physical and social environment.

Download or read book How to Think Like Shakespeare written by Scott Newstok and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-31 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book offers a short, spirited defense of rhetoric and the liberal arts as catalysts for precision, invention, and empathy in today's world. The author, a professor of Shakespeare studies at a liberal arts college and a parent of school-age children, argues that high-stakes testing and a culture of assessment have altered how and what students are taught, as courses across the arts, humanities, and sciences increasingly are set aside to make room for joyless, mechanical reading and math instruction. Students have been robbed of a complete education, their imaginations stunted by this myopic focus on bare literacy and numeracy. Education is about thinking, Newstok argues, rather than the mastery of a set of rigidly defined skills, and the seemingly rigid pedagogy of the English Renaissance produced some of the most compelling and influential examples of liberated thinking. Each of the fourteen chapters explores an essential element of Shakespeare's world and work, aligns it with the ideas of other thinkers and writers in modern times, and suggests opportunities for further reading. Chapters on craft, technology, attention, freedom, and related topics combine past and present ideas about education to build a case for the value of the past, the pleasure of thinking, and the limitations of modern educational practices and prejudices"--

Download or read book Psychology According to Shakespeare written by Philip G. Zimbardo and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2024-06-18 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: William Shakespeare has undergone psychological analyses ever since Freud diagnosed Hamlet with an Oedipus complex. But now, two psychologists propose to turn the tables by telling how Shakespeare himself understood human behavior and the innermost workings of the human mind. Psychology According to Shakespeare: What You Can Learn About Human Nature From Shakespeare's Great Plays, is an interdisciplinary project that bridges psychological science and literature, bringing together for the first time in one volume, the breadth and depth of The Bard’s knowledge of love, jealousy, dreams, betrayal, revenge, and the lust for power and position. Even today, there is no better depiction of a psychopath than Richard III, no more poignant portrayal of dementia than King Lear, nor a more unforgettable illustration of obsessive-compulsive disorder than Lady Macbeth’s attempts to wash away the damned blood spot. What has not been revealed before, however, are the many different forms of mental illness The Bard described in terms that are now identifiable in the modern manual of disorders known as the DSM-5. But, as the book shows, the playwright’s fascination with human nature extended far beyond mental disorders, ranging across the psychological spectrum, from brain anatomy to personality, cognition, emotion, perception, lifespan development, and states of consciousness. To illustrate, we have stories to tell involving astrology, potions, poisons, the four fluids called “humors,” anatomical dissections of freshly hanged criminals, and a mental hospital called Bedlam—all showing how his perspective was grounded in the medicine and culture of his time. Yet, Will Shakespeare’s intellect, curiosity, and temperament allowed him to see other ideas and issues that would become important in psychological science centuries later. Many of these connections between Shakespeare and psychology lie scattered in books, articles, and web pages across the public domain, but they have never been brought together into a single volume. So, here the authors retell of his fashioning the felicitous phrase, nature-nurture for Prospero to utter in frustration with Caliban and of how the nature-nurture dichotomy would become central in psychology’s quest to understand the tension between heredity and environment. But that was still far from all, for they discovered that his work anticipated multiple other psychological tensions. For example, in Measure for Measure, he made audiences puzzle over which exerts the greater influence on human behavior: internal traits or the external situation. And in Hamlet, he explored the equally enigmatic push-pull between reason and emotion in the mind of the dithering prince. Aside from bringing together The Bard’s known psychology, the book is unique in several other respects. It reveals how his interest in mind and behavior ranged across the full spectrum of psychology, including topics that we now call biopsychology and neuroscience, social psychology, thinking and intelligence, motivation and emotion, and reason vs intuition. Further, we show how the psychological concepts he used have evolved over the intervening centuries—for example, the Elizabethan notion of sensus communis eventually became “consciousness” and the old idea of the humors morphed into our current understanding of hormones and neurotransmitters. We also note that some of Mr. Shakespeare’s concerns seem especially timely today, as in the subplot of queer vs straight issues complicating the story of Troilus and Cressida and in Shylock’s telling of prejudices inflicted on ethnic minorities.

Download or read book Shakespeare and Social Theory written by BRADD. SHORE and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-08-23 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a bridge between Shakespeare Studies and classical social theory, opening up readings of Shakespeare to a new audience outside of literary studies and the humanities. Shakespeare has long been known as a 'great thinker' and this book reads his plays through the lens of an anthropologist, revealing new connections between Shakespeare's plays and the lives we now lead. Close readings of a selection of frequently studied plays - Hamlet, The Winter's Tale, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar and King Lear - engage with the plays in detail while connecting them with some of the biggest questions we all ask ourselves, about love, friendship, ritual, language, human interactions and the world around us. The plays are examined through various social theories including performance theory, cognitive theory, semiotics, exchange theory and structuralism. The book concludes with a consideration of how "the new astronomy" of his day and developments in optics changed the very idea of "perspective," and shaped Shakespeare's approach to embedding social theory in his dramatic texts. This accessible and engaging book will appeal to those approaching Shakespeare from outside literary studies, but will also be valuable to literature students approaching Shakespeare for the first time, or looking for a new angle on the plays.

Download or read book Book of the Mind written by Stephen Wilson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2003-06-10 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With sections on perception, memory, emotion, thought, consciousness, and the unconscious, "The Book of the Mind" is an imaginative bringing together of case notes, journals, and letters, that present humanity's most significant attempts to understand the mind and how it works.

Download or read book The Routledge Companion to Shakespeare and Philosophy written by Craig Bourne and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-25 with total page 803 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iago’s ‘I am not what I am’ epitomises how Shakespeare’s work is rich in philosophy, from issues of deception and moral deviance to those concerning the complex nature of the self, the notions of being and identity, and the possibility or impossibility of self-knowledge and knowledge of others. Shakespeare’s plays and poems address subjects including ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and social and political philosophy. They also raise major philosophical questions about the nature of theatre, literature, tragedy, representation and fiction. The Routledge Companion to Shakespeare and Philosophy is the first major guide and reference source to Shakespeare and philosophy. It examines the following important topics: What roles can be played in an approach to Shakespeare by drawing on philosophical frameworks and the work of philosophers? What can philosophical theories of meaning and communication show about the dynamics of Shakespearean interactions and vice versa? How are notions such as political and social obligation, justice, equality, love, agency and the ethics of interpersonal relationships demonstrated in Shakespeare’s works? What do the plays and poems invite us to say about the nature of knowledge, belief, doubt, deception and epistemic responsibility? How can the ways in which Shakespeare’s characters behave illuminate existential issues concerning meaning, absurdity, death and nothingness? What might Shakespeare’s characters and their actions show about the nature of the self, the mind and the identity of individuals? How can Shakespeare’s works inform philosophical approaches to notions such as beauty, humour, horror and tragedy? How do Shakespeare’s works illuminate philosophical questions about the nature of fiction, the attitudes and expectations involved in engagement with theatre, and the role of acting and actors in creating representations? The Routledge Companion to Shakespeare and Philosophy is essential reading for students and researchers in aesthetics, philosophy of literature and philosophy of theatre, as well as those exploring Shakespeare in disciplines such as literature and theatre and drama studies. It is also relevant reading for those in areas of philosophy such as ethics, epistemology and philosophy of language.

Download or read book Shakespeare s Philosophy written by Colin McGinn and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2006-11-28 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shakespeare's plays are usually studied by literary scholars and historians and the books about him from those perspectives are legion. It is most unusual for a trained philosopher to give us his insight, as Colin McGinn does here, into six of Shakespeare's greatest plays—A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, and The Tempest. In his brilliant commentary, McGinn explores Shakespeare's philosophy of life and illustrates how he was influenced, for example, by the essays of Montaigne that were translated into English while Shakespeare was writing. In addition to chapters on the great plays, there are also essays on Shakespeare and gender and his plays from the aspects of psychology, ethics, and tragedy. As McGinn says about Shakespeare, "There is not a sentimental bone in his body. He has the curiosity of a scientist, the judgement of a philosopher, and the soul of a poet." McGinn relates the ideas in the plays to the later philosophers such as David Hume and the modern commentaries of critics such as Harold Bloom. The book is an exhilarating reading experience, especially at a time when a new audience has opened up for the greatest writer in English.

Download or read book The philosophy of William Shakespeare delineating in seven hundred and fifty passages selected from his plays the multiform phases of the human mind written by William Shakespeare and published by . This book was released on 1857 with total page 712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Shakespeare Thinking written by Philip Davis and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2009-05-17 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shakespearean thinking is always dynamic: thinking that happens in the living moment of its performance, in quickly passing process. This book offers a model of human mentality that can be shown through the dense immediacy of dramatic thinking, as embodied above all in Shakespeare's working method. Shakespeare Thinking discusses the positioning of Shakespeare as the paradigm of fully human mental creativity from the Romantics to the latest neurological experiments which show that Shakespeare can reveal new understandings of the hard-wiring of the human brain, and the sheer sudden electricity of its synaptic development.

Download or read book The Philosophy of William Shakespeare Delineating in Seven Hundred and Fifty Passages Selected from His Plays the Multiform Phases of the Human Mind Collated Elucidated and Alphabetically Arranged written by William Shakespeare and published by . This book was released on 1863 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Midsummer night s Dream written by William Shakespeare and published by . This book was released on 1734 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: National Sylvan Theatre, Washington Monument grounds, The Community Center and Playgrounds Department and the Office of National Capital Parks present the ninth summer festival program of the 1941 season, the Washington Players in William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," produced by Bess Davis Schreiner, directed by Denis E. Connell, the music by Mendelssohn is played by the Washington Civic Orchestra conducted by Jean Manganaro, the setting and lights Harold Snyder, costumes Mary Davis.

Download or read book Shakespeare s Ideas written by David Bevington and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-09-23 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth exploration, through his plays and poems, of the philosophy of Shakespeare as a great poet, a great dramatist and a "great mind". Written by a leading Shakespearean scholar Discusses an array of topics, including sex and gender, politics and political theory, writing and acting, religious controversy and issues of faith, skepticism and misanthropy, and closure Explores Shakespeare as a great poet, a great dramatist and a "great mind"

Download or read book The Unconscious in Shakespeare s Plays written by Martin S. Bergmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just as concerts emerge from the interaction of many instruments, so our understanding of Shakespeare is enriched by different approaches to him. Psychoanalysis assumes that creative writers have the need to both reveal and conceal their own inner conflicts in their works. They leave residues in their works that, if we pay attention, can become building blocks that reveal aspects of the unconscious. Readers may find that the questions raised add to the pleasure of reading Shakespeare and that they deepens their understanding of his plays. Topics covered include the pivotal position of Hamlet, the poet and his calling, the Oedipus complex, intrapsychic conflict, the battle against paranoia and the homosexual compromise. By using psychoanalytic techniques in analyzing his plays and characters, the author reveals more about Shakespeare's hidden motivations and mental health.

Download or read book ShakespeareA Critical Study Of His Mind And Art written by Edward Dowden and published by Atlantic Publishers & Dist. This book was released on 2003 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Perceptive Study Of Shakespeare By Dowden Remains Unsurpassed. It Is Not An Isolated Work But An Important Landmark In Scholarly Criticism On Shakespeare. Dowden Makes A Judicious Use Of Shakespeare S Intellectual Biography And Connects The Study Of Shakespeare S Works With An Inquiry About The Personality Of The Writer And Growth Of His Mind And Character. The Critic Is Careful In Keeping The Identities Of Shakespeare And His Characters Distinct Though He Skillfully Traces The Proclivities Of Shakespeare S Characters In The Spiritual Tendencies Or Rabits Of Their Creator. In View Of The Range Of Shakespeare S Characters, From John Falstaff To Hamlet, From Lady Macbeth To Cordelia, It Is An Achievement Far Beyond The Scope Of An Extraordinary Intellectual Exercise.By And Large, Dowden Adheres To The Chronological Method Of Studying Shakespeare S Writings. This Makes The Task Of The Student And Reader Easier. References Can Be Made To The Individual Plays And To Their Group Affiliations As Tragedies, Comedies And Historics Readily.Dowden Is Free From Modern Day Tendency To Overuse Academic Jargon. There Is No Rigid Theoretical Framework To Which Shakespeare Has Been Made To Bend And Bow. On The Other Hand, We Notice An Interesting Pattern Of What The Author Himself Describes As The Struggle Between Blood And Judgement Through His Study Of Shakespeare S Plays Which Was Also A Great Affair Of Shakespeare S Life. Dowden Shows Us Decisively That Shakespeare S Creative Response To Life Rested Upon A Purely Human Basis And He Refused To Render Into Art The Dogmas Of Either Catholicism Or Protestantism Even Though He Lived In An Age Marked With Religious Controversies And His Personal Sympathies Were With Protestantism.The Chapter Growth Of Shakespeare S Mind And Art Is An Unmatched Contribution To The Critical Understanding Of Shakespeare S Personality As The Greatest Dramatist And Playwright Of The World.Dowden S Critical Commentary On Shakespeare Is Comprehensive And Wide-Ranging And Full Of Insights. No Important Aspect Of His Dramatic Art Has Remained Untouched As Is Evident From His Treatment Of Shakespeare S Humour. He Insightfully Observes That The Character And Spiritual History Of A Man Who Is Endowed With A Capacity For Humorous Appreciation Of The World Must Differ Throughout And In Every Particular From That Of The Man Whose Moral Nature Has Never Rippled Over With Gerid Laughter. And In This Distinctive Endowment Dowden Seeks The Source Of Shakespeare S Unique Genius.Abandoning Metaphysics And Abstractions, Dowden Turns To Actual Life Of The World As Viewed And Depicted By Shakespeare, To The Real Men And Women Of His Plays And Explores The Sources Of Their Emotion, Thought And Action.Shakespeare-His Mind And Art Has Carved For Itself A Permanent Niche In The Shakespearean Critical Canon.

Download or read book The Philosophy of William Shakespeare Delineating in Seven Hundred and Fifty Passages written by William Shakespeare and published by . This book was released on 1863 with total page 643 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Shakespeare and Consciousness written by Paul Budra and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-05-11 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines how early modern and recently emerging theories of consciousness and cognitive science help us to re-imagine our engagements with Shakespeare in text and performance. Papers investigate the connections between states of mind, emotion, and sensation that constitute consciousness and the conditions of reception in our past and present encounters with Shakespeare’s works. Acknowledging previous work on inwardness, self, self-consciousness, embodied self, emotions, character, and the mind-body problem, contributors consider consciousness from multiple new perspectives—as a phenomenological process, a materially determined product, a neurologically mediated reaction, or an internally synthesized identity—approaching Shakespeare’s plays and associated cultural practices in surprising and innovative ways.

Download or read book Of Human Kindness written by Paula Marantz Cohen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021-02-09 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An award-winning scholar and teacher explores how Shakespeare's greatest characters were built on a learned sense of empathy While exploring Shakespeare's plays with her students, Paula Marantz Cohen discovered that teaching and discussing his plays unlocked a surprising sense of compassion in the classroom. In this short and illuminating book, she shows how Shakespeare's genius lay with his ability to arouse empathy, even when his characters exist in alien contexts and behave in reprehensible ways. Cohen takes her readers through a selection of Shakespeare's most famous plays, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and The Merchant of Venice, to demonstrate the ways in which Shakespeare thought deeply and clearly about how we treat "the other." Cohen argues that only through close reading of Shakespeare can we fully appreciate his empathetic response to race, class, gender, and age. Wise, eloquent, and thoughtful, this book is a forceful argument for literature's power to champion what is best in us.