Shakespearean Resurrection by Sean Benson

Shakespearean Resurrection by Sean Benson

This engaging book demonstrates Shakespeare's abiding interest in the theatrical potential of the Christian resurrection from the dead. In fourteen of Shakespeare's plays, characters who have been lost, sometimes for years, suddenly reappear seemingly returning from the dead. In the classical recognition scene, such moments are explained away in naturalistic terms a character was lost at sea but survived, or abducted and escaped, and so on. Shakespeare never invalidates such explanations, but in his manipulation of classical conventions he parallels these moments with the recognition scenes from the Gospels, repeatedly evoking Christ's resurrection from the dead.

Benson's close study of the plays, as well as the classical and biblical sources that Shakespeare fuses into his recognition scenes, clearly elucidates the ways in which the playwright explored his abiding interest in the human desire to transcend death and to live reunited and reconciled with others. In his manipulation of resurrection imagery, Shakespeare conflates the material with the immaterial, the religious with the secular, and the sacred with the profane.

Benson, Sean: - Sean Benson is professor of English at University of Dubuque. He currently serves on the executive board for the South Central Renaissance Conference and on the Reader Advisory Board for Explorations in Renaissance Culture.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780820704166
ISBN 10	0820704164
Title	Shakespearean Resurrection
Author	Sean Benson
Series	Medieval And Renaissance Literary Studies
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Duquesne University Press
Year published	2009-10-14
Number of pages	229
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.