Ground-breaking essays comparing Shakespeare and Montaigne
Introduces and explores a wide range of fresh approaches to comparative study of Shakespeare and Montaigne
Illuminates connections, parallels, and discontinuities between the artistry of Shakespeare's plays and the complexity of Montaigne's thought
Considers Shakespeare and Montaigne within the intellectual history of the Renaissance and the Reformation
Reflects on Shakespeare and Montaigne as thinkers and innovators speaking to the present day, as well as their own more immediate historical moment
Examines arguments for and against Shakespeare and Montaigne as forerunners of modernity
Shakespeare and Montaigne share a grounded, genial sense of the lived reality of human experience, as well as a surprising depth of engagement with history, literature and philosophy. With celebrated subtlety and incisive humour, both authors investigate abiding questions of epistemology, psychology, theology, ethics, politics and aesthetics. In this collection, distinguished contributors consider these influential, much-beloved figures in light of each other. The English playwright and the French essayist, each in his own fashion, reflect on and evaluate the Renaissance, the Reformation and the rise of new modern perspectives many of us now might readily recognise as our own.
Author Biography:
Lars Engle, Chapman Professor of English at Tulsa, is the author of Shakespearean Pragmatism, coauthor of Studying Shakespeare's Contemporaries, and coeditor of English Renaissance Drama: A Norton Anthology. His essays have appeared in PMLA, Modern Philology, Shakespeare Survey, Shakespeare Quarterly, Shakespeare Studies, SEL, and in numerous other journals and essay collections. He's a past Trustee of the Shakespeare Association of America.Patrick Gray is Associate Professor of English Studies and Director of Liberal Arts at Durham University. He is the author of Shakespeare and the Fall of the Roman Republic: Selfhood, Stoicism, and Civil War (2019), editor of Shakespeare and the Ethics of War (2019), and co-editor of Shakespeare and Renaissance Ethics (2014). His essays have appeared in Shakespeare Survey, Shakespeare Jahrbuch, Sken , JMEMS, Comparative Drama, and Textual Practice.William M. Hamlin is Professor of English at Washington State University and Bornander Distinguished Professor in the WSU Honors College. His books include Tragedy and Scepticism in Shakespeare's England (Palgrave, 2005), Montaigne's English Journey (Oxford, 2013), and, most recently, Montaigne: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2020). A recipient of Guggenheim and British Academy fellowships, he has published essays in Renaissance Quarterly, English Literary Renaissance, Shakespeare Studies, Montaigne Studies, and many other journals.
