Shakespeare's four last plays, Cymbeline, The Tempest, Henry VIII, and The Winters Tale, offer valuable resources for political thought and reflection, highlighting the virtues necessary for rulers to fulfill their political obligations and the dangers of tyranny if these virtues decay or collapse.

Format: Hardback
Length: 186 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2024
Publisher: Lexington Books

The four last plays of Shakespeares First Folio— Cymbeline , The Tempest , Henry VIII ,and The Winters Tale —provide underappreciated resources for political thought and reflection. Political Wisdom in Late Shakespeare: A Way Out of the Wreck examines the ruling communities in each of these plays,exploring what virtues are dramatized as necessary in a courtiers fulfillment of his or her political obligations. By lending courtly virtues their close attention,Shakespearean audiences can better appreciate how much a given court has been reformed or could be further reformed in the future. Indeed,these four late plays prove remarkably united in their presentation of five virtues—patience,piety,fidelity,clemency,and diligence—which consistently appear desirable for rulers to have and regimes to encourage. Moreover,the visions of tyranny offered in these plays remind readers how much is at stake should these courtly virtues decay or collapse. Their presence or absence signals whether any political community will,to borrow the language of Henry VIII ,chart for themselves “a way out of the wreck.”

Political Wisdom in Late Shakespeare: A Way Out of the Wreck

Political Wisdom in Late Shakespeare: A Way Out of the Wreck examines the ruling communities in each of these plays, exploring what virtues are dramatized as necessary in a courtiers fulfillment of his or her political obligations. By lending courtly virtues their close attention, Shakespearean audiences can better appreciate how much a given court has been reformed or could be further reformed in the future. Indeed, these four late plays prove remarkably united in their presentation of five virtues—patience, piety, fidelity, clemency, and diligence—which consistently appear desirable for rulers to have and regimes to encourage. Moreover, the visions of tyranny offered in these plays remind readers how much is at stake should these courtly virtues decay or collapse. Their presence or absence signals whether any political community will, to borrow the language of Henry VIII, chart for themselves “a way out of the wreck.”

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666945621