Shakespeare and platonic beauty /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Vyvyan, John.
Imprint:	London : Shepheard-Walwyn, 2013.
Description:	1 online resource (viii, 221 pages)
Language:	English
Subject:	Shakespeare, William, -- 1564-1616 -- Philosophy. Shakespeare, William, -- 1564-1616 -- Comedies. Shakespeare, William, -- 1564-1616. Love in literature. Platonic love. Humorous plays. Love in literature. Philosophy. Platonic love. Electronic books.
Format:	E-Resource Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11204987

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9780856834103 0856834106 9780856834080 0856834084 0856832944 9780856832949
Notes:	Includes index.
Summary:	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 awakened in the world by beauty which 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 idealas Agamemnon, Cressida, and Hector all 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 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 edition contains a list of the author's Shakespearean references and an enhanced index.
Other form:	Print version: Vyvyan, John. Shakespeare and Platonic Beauty. Chicago : Shepheard-Walwyn, ©2013 9780856832949

Table of Contents:

Front Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Contents; Epigraph; Publishers' Note; 1
Theseus and Hippolyta; 2
The Classical Background; 3
Plato in Florence; 4
An Introduction to the Heroine as the Heavenly Venus; 5
A Midsummer Night's Dream; 6
As You Like It; 7
All's Well that Ends Well; 8
Troilus and Cressida; 9
Conclusion; APPENDICES; 1
Selected Stanzas from An Hymne in Honour of Beautie; 2
Passages from Marsilio Ficino's Commentary on the Symposium; 3
Pico della Mirandola's Version of the Ascent; Author's Shakespearean References; Index.

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