Mortality And Mercy In Vienna

Mortality and mercy in Vienna

Mastering Shakespeare

Mastering Shakespeare covers in detail the plays set in the National Curriculum through GCSE and A-Level to the major elements of Shakespearean drama studied in further education courses. The book is divided into sections that deal with comedy, tragedy and history. Also included are detailed sections on the most popular plays in the theatre and in the examination room. The book deals with the basic themes of Shakespeare, the kinds of characters he created, the stories he was attracted to, and the ways in which the plays work out on stage. Among the plays studied are A Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.

Godless Shakespeare

Godless Shakespeare is the first book to discuss Shakespeare's plays from an atheist perspective. Although it is clear that Shakespeare engaged with and deployed much of his culture's broadly religious interests - his language is shot through with biblical quotations, priestly sermonizing and Christian imagery - Mallin argues that there is a profound absence of or hostility to God in his plays. Following Dante's three part structure for The Divine Comedy - Hell represents expressions of religious faith in Shakespeare's plays, Purgatory sets out more sceptical positions, and Heaven shows articulations of godlessness - Mallin traces a spiritual ascent from the unthinkingly devout to the atheistically spiritual. This polemical, vigorous account focuses on the moral and spiritual dilemmas of major characters, developing the often subtle transitions between belief, scepticism and atheism. Finally, Godless Shakespeare argues for the liberating potential of unbelief.