Vyvyan's Shakespearean Trilogy

With modesty and conviction, this edition offers a viewpoint seldom considered: an unusual and exceptionally clear insight into Shakespeare's philosophy. Appreciating the danger Shakespeare faced in writing at a time of major religious intolerance, this fresh examination demonstrates how subtly his plays allegorically explore aspects of the perennial philosophy. In doing so, it argues, Shakespeare raises the fundamental question of ethics. Both thought provoking and persuasive, this book also contrasts Hamlet with Measure for Measure and Othello with The Winter's Tale in order to expose the dilemmas that confront its heroes.

Looking at some of the Shakespearean comedies, author John Vyvyan suggests they express a consistent, profoundly Christian philosophy of life based on the Platonic ideas of beauty and love. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, and All's Well That Ends Well, the heroines bring to life the idea of love as the force that is do in Troilus and Cressida -sowed the seeds of tragedy. The author's recognition of Shakespeare's use of allegory enables him to make sense of certain developments in these plays that seem weak or absurd from the psychological standpoint. He does not suggest that Shakespeare's philosophy is the most important awakened in the world by beauty that then leads the soul to perfection. Vyvyan believes that for Shakespeare, love was preeminent over human ideas of justice, that self-discovery was a supreme human experience, and that breaking faith with the ideal-as Agamemnon, Cressida, and Hector all thing about his plays; it is simply one thing about them that ought to be known. The recognition of this philosophy enhances enjoyment of the plays, giving them a new dimension and richness. This book contains a list of the author's Shakespearean references and an enhanced index.

Offering an unusual and exceptionally clear insight into Shakespeare's philosophy and a viewpoint seldom considered, this book argues that his philosophy was consistent, consciously held, and profoundly Christian. Showing that Shakespeare appreciated the danger faced in writing at a time of major religious intolerance, it explains how the playwright used the medieval allegory of love to veil his ideas. Fresh and fascinating, this record also demonstrates that, even in his earliest work, Shakespeare was moving toward the universal ideas of love, forgiveness, and regeneration. Love's Labour Lost, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Romeo and Juliet are discussed at length.