Hamlet in His Modern Guises

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Hamlet in His Modern Guises by Alexander Welsh, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alexander Welsh ISBN: 9781400824120
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: January 3, 2001
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Alexander Welsh
ISBN: 9781400824120
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: January 3, 2001
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Focusing on Shakespeare's Hamlet as foremost a study of grief, Alexander Welsh offers a powerful analysis of its protagonist as the archetype of the modern hero. For over two centuries writers and critics have viewed Hamlet's persona as a fascinating blend of self-consciousness, guilt, and wit. Yet in order to understand more deeply the modernity of this Shakespearean hero, Welsh first situates Hamlet within the context of family and mourning as it was presented in other revenge tragedies of Shakespeare's time. Revenge, he maintains, appears as a function of mourning rather than an end in itself. Welsh also reminds us that the mourning of a son for his father may not always be sincere. This book relates the problem of dubious mourning to Hamlet's ascendancy as an icon of Western culture, which began late in the eighteenth century, a time when the thinking of past generations--or fathers--represented to many an obstacle to human progress.

Welsh reveals how Hamlet inspired some of the greatest practitioners of modernity's quintessential literary form, the novel. Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Scott's Redgauntlet, Dickens's Great Expectations, Melville's Pierre, and Joyce's Ulysses all enhance our understanding of the play while illustrating a trend in which Hamlet ultimately becomes a model of intense consciousness. Arguing that modern consciousness mourns for the past, even as it pretends to be free of it, Welsh offers a compelling explanation of why Hamlet remains marvelously attractive to this day.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Focusing on Shakespeare's Hamlet as foremost a study of grief, Alexander Welsh offers a powerful analysis of its protagonist as the archetype of the modern hero. For over two centuries writers and critics have viewed Hamlet's persona as a fascinating blend of self-consciousness, guilt, and wit. Yet in order to understand more deeply the modernity of this Shakespearean hero, Welsh first situates Hamlet within the context of family and mourning as it was presented in other revenge tragedies of Shakespeare's time. Revenge, he maintains, appears as a function of mourning rather than an end in itself. Welsh also reminds us that the mourning of a son for his father may not always be sincere. This book relates the problem of dubious mourning to Hamlet's ascendancy as an icon of Western culture, which began late in the eighteenth century, a time when the thinking of past generations--or fathers--represented to many an obstacle to human progress.

Welsh reveals how Hamlet inspired some of the greatest practitioners of modernity's quintessential literary form, the novel. Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Scott's Redgauntlet, Dickens's Great Expectations, Melville's Pierre, and Joyce's Ulysses all enhance our understanding of the play while illustrating a trend in which Hamlet ultimately becomes a model of intense consciousness. Arguing that modern consciousness mourns for the past, even as it pretends to be free of it, Welsh offers a compelling explanation of why Hamlet remains marvelously attractive to this day.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Truth by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book The Politics of Evangelical Identity by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book Speech Matters by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book Information and Learning in Markets by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book Getting Tough by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book Numerical Methods by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book Statistical and Thermal Physics by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book On Psychological and Visionary Art by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book Ant Encounters by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book A Reader on Classical Islam by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book Welfare and Rational Care by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book Deep Roots by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book The Myth of Independence by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book The Litigation State by Alexander Welsh
Cover of the book Validated Numerics by Alexander Welsh
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy