Overview

This book offers a new approach to the discussion of English Renaissance literary subjectivity. Dissatisfied with much New Historicist and Cultural Materialistic criticism, it attempts to trace the history of the controversies of self. William Hazlitt emerges as a pioneering figure in a tradition of literary criticism which this book tries to advance. Drawing on the personal construct theory of George A. Kelly, and on the moral theory of Alasdair MacIntyre, the textual ways are traced by which 'That within' Hamlet is constructed. In an argument that challenges some of the founding propositions of New Historicist and Cultural Materialist practice, the Prince is seen to have a self-constituting, as opposed to a self-fashioning, sense of self. This sense of self is neither essentialist nor transhistorical; using the work of Charles Taylor , the play is seen to be exploring a Montaignesque, as opposed to Cartesian, notion of subjectivity. The controversies of self are, in fact, an issue within Shakespeare's play; and if the notion of Folio and Quarto Princes is allowed, it may even be at issue within the play. Hamlet debates our debate.

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9780198185048

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Reviews

A unique and fresh lens through which to view notions of early modern interiority ... Lee does an admirable job of coupling theory with practice in the final chapters and provides an interesting view of what we might call Hamlet's interior. The book is well researched and has far-reaching implications for those scholars interested in the controversies surrounding early modern subjectivity. Sixteenth Century Journal This is a well-argued book with relevance for the discussion of the proper approach to the self in contemporary criticism. Years Work in English Studies Thoughtful and wide-ranging ... This is a densely argued and quite demanding book which provides both a thorough survey of accounts of literary subjectivity and an original contribution to the discussion. Modern Language Review Compelling study of Hamlet that adds substantially to our understanding of the play four centuries after its composition ... John Lee directly confronts the dominant critical paradigms of our time and points out that their shortcomings arise from a neglect of the text and a failure to consider adequately its context ... merit and will reward the careful attention of Shakespeare scholars. Ben Jonson Journal Carefully argued ... Lee's artfully constructed book is valuable for its account of the history and development of early and contemporary criticism, but it also has many penetrating comments on the play, going to the heart of some of its most irresolvable problems. If the Hamlet who emerges is a relatively familiar one, the processes which allow him to emerge in this way are meticulously and acutely examined. H.R. Woudhuysen, Times Literary Supplement

Author Information

John Lee is Lecturer in English, University of Bristol

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