Of Philosophers and Kings

by Craig, Leon Harold

• ISBN13: 9780802086051
• ISBN10: 0802086055
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-04-01
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr

Summary

This innovative work argues that Shakespeare was as great a philosopher as he was a poet, and that his greatness as a poet derived even more from his power as a thinker than from his genius for linguistic expression. Accordingly, Leon Craig's interpretation of the plays - focusing primarily on Macbeth and King Lear, but including extensive comments on Othello, The Winter's Tale, and Measure for Measure - are intended to demonstrate what can be gained from reading Shakespeare 'philosophically.' Shakespeare, Craig argues, had a persistent fascination with the relationship between politics and philosophy, and even more precisely, with the idea of a philosophical ruler. Macbeth and King Lear are given detailed exposition for the special light they cast on tensions between philosophy and politics, knowledge and power. They show how the pursuit of an adequate understanding of certain practical issues - transient yet recurring - necessarily leads to considerations that far transcend the particular circumstances in which these practical problems arise. Metaphysics, cosmology, and man's confrontation with nature, were made dramatically manifest by Shakespeare to challenge and promote philosophic activity among his audience and readers. Unconventional in its approach, but working within the tradition of such critics as Allan Bloom and Harry Jaffa, Craig's book makes a substantial contribution to understanding the general principles of Shakespearean drama.

Author Biography

Leon Harold Craig teaches in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta. He is also author of The War Lover: A Study of Plato's Republic.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Notice to the Reader	xi
The Political Philosopher as Dramatic Poet: Preliminary Remarks on the Study of Shakespeare	3	(22)
Living in a Hard Time: Politics and Philosophy in Macbeth	25	(87)
Machiavelli Visits Scotland	30	(21)
The Metaphysics of Macbeth	51	(25)
The Natural Workings of Good and Evil	76	(24)
Infections in the Casing Air	100	(12)
The Discovery of Nature: Politics and Philosophy in King Lear	112	(80)
The Perils of Political Improvisation	113	(20)
The Problem of Nature	133	(35)
A King Becomes Philosophical	168	(21)
A Philosopher Becomes a King	189	(3)
``Sweet Philosophy'': Further Illustrations of Shakespeare's Portrayal of Philosophy in Relation to Political Life	192	(77)
Elementary Matters in Othello	194	(20)
The True Test of a Wise Poet: The Winter's Tale	214	(16)
High-Minded Negligence in Measure for Measure	230	(21)
Final Remarks on Shakespeare as Philosopher-Poet	251	(18)
Notes	269	(122)
Bibliography	391	(10)
Index of Names	401