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Shakespeare's big men : tragedy and the problem of resentment / Richard van Oort.

By: Material type: TextLanguage: English Publisher: Toronto ; Buffalo ; London : University of Toronto Press, [2016]Copyright date: ℗♭2016Description: xiii, 255 pages 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781442650077
  • 1442650079
Other title:
  • Big men [Portion of title]
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 822.33 23
Summary: Shakespeare's Big Men examines five Shakespearean tragedies--Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and Coriolanus--through the lens of generative anthropology and the insights of its founder, Eric Gans. Generative anthropology's theory of the origins of human society explains the social function of tragedy: to defer our resentment against the "big men" who dominate society by letting us first identify with the tragic protagonist and his resentment, then allowing us to repudiate the protagonist's resentful rage and achieve theatrical catharsis. Drawing on this hypothesis, Richard van Oort offers inspired readings of Shakespeare's plays and their representations of desire, resentment, guilt, and evil. His analysis revives the universal spirit in Shakespearean criticism, illustrating how the plays can serve as a way to understand the ethical dilemma of resentment and discover within ourselves the nature of the human experience."-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Cover image Item type Current library Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Vol info URL Copy number Status Notes Date due Barcode Item holds Item hold queue priority Course reserves
Book Högskolan Väst Övre plan / Upper floor 822.33 Shakespeare Available 6004300002376
Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-246) and index.

Shakespeare's Big Men examines five Shakespearean tragedies--Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and Coriolanus--through the lens of generative anthropology and the insights of its founder, Eric Gans. Generative anthropology's theory of the origins of human society explains the social function of tragedy: to defer our resentment against the "big men" who dominate society by letting us first identify with the tragic protagonist and his resentment, then allowing us to repudiate the protagonist's resentful rage and achieve theatrical catharsis. Drawing on this hypothesis, Richard van Oort offers inspired readings of Shakespeare's plays and their representations of desire, resentment, guilt, and evil. His analysis revives the universal spirit in Shakespearean criticism, illustrating how the plays can serve as a way to understand the ethical dilemma of resentment and discover within ourselves the nature of the human experience."-- Provided by publisher.

Imported from: library.uh.edu:210/INNOPAC (Do not remove)

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