1st Edition

Shakespeare and Happiness

By Kathleen French Copyright 2022
242 Pages
by Routledge

242 Pages
by Routledge

242 Pages
by Routledge

Shakespeare and Happiness is a study of attitudes to happiness in the early modern period and in Shakespeare’s plays. It considers the conflicting influences of religion and Aristotelian philosophy in shaping attitudes to the possibility of attaining happiness. By being the first book to focus specifically on the representation of happiness in Shakespeare’s plays, it contributes to... Read more
Introduction;  Part I. Thinking About Happiness;  1. Happiness in the Early Modern Period;  2. Approaches to Shakespeare;  Part II. Happiness Gained: The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It and Twelfth Night;  3. Looking for Different Types of Happiness;  4. Looking for Happiness in a Fallen World;  5. Rewriting Eve;  Part III. Happiness Lost: Hamlet, Measure for Measure, Othello and The Winter’s Tale;  6. Trapped in a Fallen World;  7. Blaming Eve: Exercises in Power; 8. And After That Forgiveness?;  Conclusion;  Bibliography

Biography

Kathleen French has a PhD from The University of Sydney. She is currently an Honorary Associate in the Department of English at The University of Sydney.