Richard C. McCoy
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199945764
- eISBN:
- 9780199333196
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199945764.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Shakespeare Studies, Criticism/Theory
Faith in Shakespeare explains what it means to believe in Shakespeare’s plays, exploring how his plots can be both preposterous and gripping and his characters more substantial and enduring than the ...
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Faith in Shakespeare explains what it means to believe in Shakespeare’s plays, exploring how his plots can be both preposterous and gripping and his characters more substantial and enduring than the people surrounding us in the theater. Our experience can be partly explained by what Coleridge calls “the willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.” The book explores poetic faith’s affinities and contrasts with religious faith, and it considers the recent return to religion in Shakespeare studies as well as speculation about Shakespeare’s own religious beliefs and their Reformation context. Nevertheless, Faith in Shakespeare concentrates on text over context, focusing on the afterlife of Shakespeare’s language more than theological controversies over the afterlife of spirits. The book confirms its convictions in literature’s intrinsic powers and explores the causes for our paradoxical belief in theater’s potent but manifest illusions. It shows how these illusions enlist our own imaginative cooperation by asking us to “piece out our imperfections with your thoughts” while responding with kindness and compassion towards the broader human imperfections of the actors, the playwright, and the characters they represent. Rather than faith in God or the supernatural, faith in Shakespeare is sustained and explained only by the complex, subtle and entirely human power of poetic eloquence and dramatic performance.Less
Faith in Shakespeare explains what it means to believe in Shakespeare’s plays, exploring how his plots can be both preposterous and gripping and his characters more substantial and enduring than the people surrounding us in the theater. Our experience can be partly explained by what Coleridge calls “the willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.” The book explores poetic faith’s affinities and contrasts with religious faith, and it considers the recent return to religion in Shakespeare studies as well as speculation about Shakespeare’s own religious beliefs and their Reformation context. Nevertheless, Faith in Shakespeare concentrates on text over context, focusing on the afterlife of Shakespeare’s language more than theological controversies over the afterlife of spirits. The book confirms its convictions in literature’s intrinsic powers and explores the causes for our paradoxical belief in theater’s potent but manifest illusions. It shows how these illusions enlist our own imaginative cooperation by asking us to “piece out our imperfections with your thoughts” while responding with kindness and compassion towards the broader human imperfections of the actors, the playwright, and the characters they represent. Rather than faith in God or the supernatural, faith in Shakespeare is sustained and explained only by the complex, subtle and entirely human power of poetic eloquence and dramatic performance.
