Tyrant : Shakespeare on Politics
Book on CD - 2018 BOCD 822.33 Gr 1 On Shelf No requests on this item
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Call Number: BOCD 822.33 Gr
On Shelf At: Downtown Library
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Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout |
BOCD 822.33 Gr | 4-week checkout | On Shelf |
Compact discs.
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini.
World-renowned Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt explores the playwright's insight into bad (and often mad) rulers. As an aging, tenacious Elizabeth I clung to power, a talented playwright probed the social causes, the psychological roots, and the twisted consequences of tyranny. In exploring the psyche (and psychoses) of the likes of Richard III, Macbeth, Lear, Coriolanus, and the societies they rule over, Stephen Greenblatt illuminates the ways in which William Shakespeare delved into the lust for absolute power and the catastrophic consequences of its execution. Cherished institutions seem fragile, political classes are in disarray, economic misery fuels populist anger, people knowingly accept being lied to, partisan rancor dominates, spectacular indecency rules--these aspects of a society in crisis fascinated Shakespeare and shaped some of his most memorable plays. With uncanny insight, he shone a spotlight on the infantile psychology and unquenchable narcissistic appetites of demagogues--and the cynicism and opportunism of the various enablers and hangers-on who surround them-and imagined how they might be stopped. As Greenblatt shows, Shakespeare's work, in this as in so many other ways, remains vitally relevant today.
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PUBLISHED
Prince Frederick, MD : Recorded Books, [2018]
Year Published: 2018
Description: 5 audio discs (5 hr., 15 min.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
Language: English
Format: Book on CD
ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
9781501997402
1501997408
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Ballerini, Edoardo, 1970-
Recorded Books, Inc.
SUBJECTS
Shakespeare, William, -- 1564-1616 -- Political and social views.
Politics and literature -- Great Britain -- History -- 16th century.