New Book by Nick Luke: Shakespearean Arrivals

22 Jan 2018

IASH congratulates Nick Luke on the publication of his new book.

Shakespearean Arrivals: The Birth of Character

Nicholas Luke

In this distinctive study, Nicholas Luke explores the abiding power of Shakespeare's tragedies by suggesting an innovative new model of his character creation. Rather than treating characters as presupposed beings, Luke shows how they arrive as something more than functional dramatis personae - how they come to life as 'subjects' - through Shakespeare's orchestration of transformational dramatic events. Moving beyond dominant critical modes, Luke combines compelling close readings of Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear with an accessible analysis of thinkers such as Badiou, Žižek, Bergson, Whitehead and Latour, and the 'adventist' Christian tradition flowing from Saint Paul through Luther to Kierkegard. Representing a significant intervention into the way we encounter Shakespeare's tragic figures, the book argues for a subjectivity which is not singular or abiding, but perilous and leaping.

  • Proposes a new model of Shakespeare's tragic character
  • Engages critically and creatively with both contemporary and early modern notions of the self
  • Presents a close and original reading of Shakespeare's major tragedies (Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear)

 

Author: Nicholas Luke
Date Published: January 2018
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9781108422154
Length: 260 pages

 

Latest