Helms Cognition, Mindreading, and Shakespeare's Characters

1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-3-030-03565-5
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 229 Seiten, eBook

Reihe: Cognitive Studies in Literature and Performance

Cognition, Mindreading, and Shakespeare's Characters
brings cognitive science to Shakespeare, applying contemporary theories of mindreading to Shakespeare’s construction of character. Building on the work of the philosopher Alvin Goldman and cognitive literary critics such as Bruce McConachie and Lisa Zunshine, Nicholas Helms uses the language of mindreading to analyze inference and imagination throughout Shakespeare’s plays, dwelling at length on misread minds in
King Lear
,
Much Ado About Nothing, Othello
, and
Romeo and Juliet
. Shakespeare manipulates the mechanics of misreading to cultivate an early modern audience of adept mindreaders, an audience that continues to contemplate the moral ramifications of Shakespeare’s characters even after leaving the playhouse. Using this cognitive literary approach, Helms reveals how misreading fuels Shakespeare’s enduring popular appeal and investigates the ways in which Shakespeare’s characters can both corroborate and challenge contemporary cognitive theories of the human mind.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Helms, Nicholas R.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. The Mind’s Construction: An Introduction to Mindreading in Shakespeare.- 2. Reading the Mind: Cognitive Science and Close Reading.- 3. Inferring the Mind: Parasites and the Breakdown of Inference in
Othello
.- 4. Imagining the Mind: Empathy and Misreading in
Much Ado About Nothing
.- 5. Integrating Minds: Blending Methods in
The King Is Alive
and
Twelfth Night.-
6.
 
Finding the Frame: Inference in
Romeo and Juliet.-
7. Reading Incoherence: How Shakespeare Speaks Back to Cognitive Science.- 8. Mindreading as Engagement: Active Spectators and "The Strangers' Case".

Über Autor(innen)

Nicholas R. Helms
 is Instructor of English at the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies at The University of Alabama, USA. His research applies cognitive science to early modern drama and poetry. He also acts as artistic director of the Improbable Fictions staged reading series.