ISBN: 9781472577184

The Great Shakespeareans series illuminates the figures who have had the greatest influence on the interpretation, understanding and cultural reception of Shakespeare. With world-class co… Mehr…

The Great Shakespeareans series illuminates the figures who have had the greatest influence on the interpretation, understanding and cultural reception of Shakespeare. With world-class contributors and editor, each volume offers a unique insight into the myriad ways in which Shakespeare has been received, retold and reimagined by key people in cultural history. Voltaire, Goethe, Schlegel and Coleridge represent Shakespeare reception in three different cultural spheres during the eighteenth century and its long extension into the nineteenth. Although a strict neo-classicist, Voltaire nevertheless sees a raw, primitive energy in Shakespeare. For the young Goethe, Shakespeare stands for primal renewing forces of quasi-divine origins, while Schlegel channels these into translation and criticism and a sense of form and purpose. Coleridge regards Shakespeare as the prime examples of general principles of art and imagination. The first three figure help to establish Shakespeare's reputation in Europe; the fought presides over a revolution in critical thinking about him in his own country. Book jacket. Media ><