Shakespearean Pragmatism

Market of His Time
Just as Shakespeare's theatre was an economic gamble, so the plays themselves submit to an audience's judgement. This book suggests such a theatrical economy provides a model for the way in which truth is determined in the world at large - a model like that of contemporary pragmatism.
Just as Shakespeare's theatre was an economic gamble, subject to the workings of a market, so the plays themselves submit actions, persons, and motives to an audience's judgement. Such a theatrical economy, Lars Engle suggests, provides a model for the way in which truth is determined and assessed in the world at large - a model much like that offered by contemporary pragmatism. To Engle, the problems of worth, price, and value that appear so frequently in Shakespeare's works reveal a playwright dramatizing the negotiable nature of perception and belief - in short, the nature of his audience's purchase on reality. This innovative argument views Shakespeare in the context of contemporary pragmatism and to shows that Shakespeare in many ways anticipated pragmatism as it has been developed in the thought of Richard Rorty, Barbara Herrnstein Smith, and others. With detailed reference to the sonnets and plays, Engle explores Shakespeare's tendency to treat knowledge, truth, and certainty as relatively stable goods within a theatrical economy of social interaction. He shows the playwright recasting kingship, aristocracy, and poetic immortality in pragmatic terms.As attentive to history as it is to contemporary theory, this book mediates between current and traditional accounts of Shakespeare.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.