A whole new way of reading Shakespeare
The well-known English scholar Elisabeth Bronfen presents the definitive book about Shakespeare. Her entire life-long study of one of the greatest authors in literary history leads to a new image that breaks down his work on the basis of recurring themes: dream worlds, cryptomania, love suspicions, love wars, objects of exchange, war as a continuation of politics, politics as a continuation of war, female rulers, speaking bodies, male and female corpses, and: the last scene.
These elements are sought in all plays and understood as a “series”, i.e. as the continuous development of a theme through all works. This allows her to show shifts, different solutions, etc., which Shakespeare repeatedly “works through” in his entire work. What does Shakespeare think about war? What about being a daughter? What about being a mother? What about jealousy? By extracting these motifs and stringing together the various passages in the plays, relating them to each other and discussing them in context, you get a completely different view of Shakespeare.
Elisabeth Bronfen is a star. She repeatedly manages to address literary and cultural topics for a larger audience beyond the confines of academia.
‘’Whether she is writing about Shakespeare, divas, hysteria, the pandemic, Hollywood or cooking, Elisabeth Bronfen always has a unique perspective on her subject.‘’ - Jutta Czeguhn, Süddeutsche Zeitung
