Fraught Decisions in Plato and Shakespeare

(Hardback)

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In the reincarnation myth in Book X of Platos Republic, the unnamed first soul, who has lived a good life and has been rewarded in the afterlife, chooses a new life and fate, and chooses catastrophically badly. He finds himself fated to eat his own children. Despite being warned to blame only himself, he wails and blames anything and everything else in his conviction that his fate is undeserved. Though he should not be shocked because he has made this choice himself, he is incredulous because he has completely misunderstood the nature of his choice. Starting with Platos myth, this book looks at the errors this soul has made and considers these errors through both the Republic and a series of paired Shakespeare plays.

Reading the Republic along with Othello and The Comedy of Errors, the first section focuses on the misreading of comedy and tragedy in the life of the individual; returning to the Republic and using The Merchant of Venice and Pericles, Part II focuses on the broadened context of the misuse of political and economic forces; returning again to the Republic and reading Timon of Athens and Measure for Measure, Part III focuses on the broadest context, the misunderstanding of the inseparability of birth and infinite debt. The hope of the text, and the hope of human life, is to help us avoid choosing lives that devour what we most love.

Reviews

Rothleder's thesis is provocative and compelling. The strengths of the book are the refreshing and eye-opening interpretation of the Republic, the insightful contrast of Descartes and Derrida as a matrix for interpreting both the texts and human life, and the engaging and original use of Shakespeare to illuminate this.

This serious, thoughtful book is well written and a pleasure to read. One can easily imagine Rothleder developing in class the points she makes in her text to engage students new to Plato's Republic and the plays of Shakespeare. Those who know these classics only too well will also be engaged--and delighted to see a familiar story told from a surprising perspective.... She focuses on three themes--the confusion of comedy and tragedy, the imbalance of polity and economy, and the debt that birth itself obligates one to pay--to evoke the moments of incredulity both characters and readers encounter. Highly recommended.

Author Bio

Dianne Rothleder teaches in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program at Loyola University Chicago. She is the author of The Work of Friendship: Rorty, His Critics, and the Problem of Solidarity.