Insights into the World of Shakespearean Literature by Dr. Heward Wilkinson
DID WE MISLAY
HAMLET’S ‘AS ’TWERE’ ?
Dr. Heward Wilkinson
http://hewardwilkinson.co.uk
A Confession
MY NAME IS
HEWARD
WILKINSON AND
I AM AN
OXAHOLIC
Shared Symptoms
A Matching Counter-Addiction on the side of
Stratford
Are All Addictions Counter-Addictions? What
would ours be countering?
Hamlet to the players…
‘...o’erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing
so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose
end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold,
as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature, to show virtue
her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very
age and body of the time his form and pressure.’
Hamlet’s version of the ancient
concept of Mimesis
What’s he to Hecuba?
The Play’s the thing.
Wherein I’ll catch the
conscience of the King
Authorship Orientation
Factual Enquiry
•
Oxfordians
Art for Art’s Sake
•
Shapiro
•
Wilde
•
Eliot
•
Wimsatt and Beardsley
Implicit models as beliefs, and
the intractability of persuasion
To understand the belief dimension is to
implicitly see the total context
The philosophical assumptions
The nature of rigid models in forcing us to be
unable to raise our eyes from the foreground
If we turn to the background we begin to see
Historicity, the implicit temporality of the
background
Moments of Nuance
Reveal Texture of Authoriality
Different lived experiences, history and
Background of the Persons and Personae
Rich, subtle, infinite Contexts and Experiences
Uniqueness and respective contexts
Can’t be reduced to a linear theory of events
and facts
Two Illustrations of Historicity
HEINEKEN
•
80’s
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7
waiVCP-io
GUINNESS
•
90’s
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5
Om15TM7t9g
Historicity
Best understood by Art Criticism, especially
Literary Criticism
Increasing signs this is now being recognised by
Oxfordians
Fascinated by Fictional Characters
Jane Austen and John Henry Newman’s
comments on her
How is it so much as possible we fall in love with
and are haunted by imaginary characters, such as
Emma and Hamlet and Wagner’s Wotan
Discussion of Emma as opening up the whole
field of Historicity in Literary Criticism
Literary Criticism is the Third Position we need
Hamlet to the players…
‘...o’erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing
so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose
end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold,
as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature, to show virtue
her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very
age and body of the time his form and pressure.’
Literary Criticism
as the Third Position
Why are we not addicted to the great Shakespeare
Critics e.g., Coleridge, Wilson Knight, Rene Girard,
Ted Hughes - even Harold Bloom
Once we see this we move from a narrower addiction
to a richer and more reflexive one
We also realise we are doing
Literary Criticism right now!
This discussion is OUR
reflexive engagement with the
wider concept of Literary
Criticism
Henry V Chorus
and Sir Philip Sidney
Fortunately Shakespeare endorses the Third Model
The articulations of the Third Position in the
Choruses of Henry V are a defence of open-ended
imagination
As such they are satiric dismissals of the naive
realist position of Sidney in Defense of Poetry
Literary Criticism
If our man is the author, we have an unparalleled
opportunity to open up Literary Criticism of
Shakespeare in a way which has never been done
before.
Example of Hamlet Quartos and DH Lawrence
Something we have largely neglected with our
preoccupation with our model
Historicity Contrasted with Science
Historicity
•
Arises out of the
comparison of textual
dimensions
•
Essentially knowledge of
the Future, as in
construction of a sentence
in speech
Science
•
As Positive World View is
knowledge of the Past
Shakespearean Criticism
Essentially openness to choice and the unknown
Is Historicity
We should welcome it!
Questions
and
Comments
Thank you!
Dr. Heward Wilkinson
http://hewardwilkinson.co.uk
http://hewardwilkinson.co.uk/writings
hewardwilkinson@gmail.com
http://www.shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/wp-
content/uploads/Wilkinson.Cordelia.pdf
Explore the intriguing world of Shakespearean literature through the eyes of Dr. Heward Wilkinson. Delve into discussions on authorship, mimesis, and the depth of characters in Shakespeare's plays, presented with insightful images and thought-provoking quotes.
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Presentation Transcript
DID WE MISLAY HAMLET S AS TWERE ? Dr. Heward Wilkinson http://hewardwilkinson.co.uk
A Confession MY NAME IS HEWARD WILKINSON AND I AM AN OXAHOLIC
Shared Symptoms A Matching Counter-Addiction on the side of Stratford Are All Addictions Counter-Addictions? What would ours be countering?
Hamlet to the players ...o erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as twere, the mirror up to nature, to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure.
Hamlets version of the ancient concept of Mimesis What s he to Hecuba? The Play s the thing. Wherein I ll catch the conscience of the King
Authorship Orientation Factual Enquiry Oxfordians Art for Art s Sake Shapiro Wilde Eliot Wimsatt and Beardsley
Implicit models as beliefs, and the intractability of persuasion To understand the belief dimension is to implicitly see the total context The philosophical assumptions The nature of rigid models in forcing us to be unable to raise our eyes from the foreground If we turn to the background we begin to see Historicity, the implicit temporality of the background
Moments of Nuance Reveal Texture of Authoriality Different lived experiences, history and Background of the Persons and Personae Rich, subtle, infinite Contexts and Experiences Uniqueness and respective contexts Can t be reduced to a linear theory of events and facts
Two Illustrations of Historicity HEINEKEN 80 s GUINNESS 90 s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7 waiVCP-io https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5 Om15TM7t9g
Historicity Best understood by Art Criticism, especially Literary Criticism Increasing signs this is now being recognised by Oxfordians
Fascinated by Fictional Characters Jane Austen and John Henry Newman s comments on her How is it so much as possible we fall in love with and are haunted by imaginary characters, such as Emma and Hamlet and Wagner s Wotan Discussion of Emma as opening up the whole field of Historicity in Literary Criticism Literary Criticism is the Third Position we need
Hamlet to the players ...o erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as twere, the mirror up to nature, to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure.
Literary Criticism as the Third Position Why are we not addicted to the great Shakespeare Critics e.g., Coleridge, Wilson Knight, Rene Girard, Ted Hughes - even Harold Bloom Once we see this we move from a narrower addiction to a richer and more reflexive one
We also realise we are doing Literary Criticism right now! This discussion is OUR reflexive engagement with the wider concept of Literary Criticism
Henry V Chorus and Sir Philip Sidney Fortunately Shakespeare endorses the Third Model The articulations of the Third Position in the Choruses of Henry V are a defence of open-ended imagination As such they are satiric dismissals of the naive realist position of Sidney in Defense of Poetry
Literary Criticism If our man is the author, we have an unparalleled opportunity to open up Literary Criticism of Shakespeare in a way which has never been done before. Example of Hamlet Quartos and DH Lawrence Something we have largely neglected with our preoccupation with our model
Historicity Contrasted with Science Historicity Arises out of the comparison of textual dimensions Essentially knowledge of the Future, as in construction of a sentence in speech Science As Positive World View is knowledge of the Past
Shakespearean Criticism Essentially openness to choice and the unknown Is Historicity We should welcome it!
Questions and Comments
Thank you! Dr. Heward Wilkinson http://hewardwilkinson.co.uk http://hewardwilkinson.co.uk/writings hewardwilkinson@gmail.com http://www.shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/wp- content/uploads/Wilkinson.Cordelia.pdf
