Shakespeare's Speculative Art

This is the first book-length analysis of Shakespeare s depiction of specula (mirrors) to reveal the literal and allegorical functions of mirrors in the playwright s art and thought. Adding a new dimension to the plays Troilus and Cressida, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Henry the Fifth, Love s Labor s Lost, A Midsummer Night s Dream, and All s Well That Ends Well, Maurice A. Hunt also references mirrors in a wide range of external sources, from the Bible to demonic practices. Looking at the concept of speculation through its multiple meanings - cognitive, philosophical, hypothetical, and provisional - this original reading suggests Shakespeare as a craftsman so prescient and careful in his art that he was able to criticize the queen and a former patron with such impunity that he could still live as a gentleman.

Author: M. Hunt
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Published: 07/13/2011
Pages: 263
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.60w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780230116610

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2012

About the Author
MAURICE A. HUNT is a Professor of English at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, USA.