Shakespeare and the Good Life

Book excerpt: In separate chapters on The Tempest, King Lear, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, and A Midsummer Night's Dream (many of which have appeared elsewhere in journals or essay collections), the author explores Shakespeare's philosophy and examines its treatment by other critics, from Ben Jonson to A.C. Bradley. He contends that Shakespeare was an independently thinking follower of the classical philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and explores such themes as the playwright's treatment of the philosopher king, natural versus conventional justice, contending views of the best regime and the best life, the moral character of the universe, the Biblical alternative to classical philosophy, and the Christian view of temperance. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR