Overview

A scene-by-scene philosophical study of Shakespeare play, ""Macbeth"", this book demonstrates why Shakespeare's poetic writings still arouse and sustain serious inquiry and reflection. Using a combination of philosophical rigour, political insight, and textual thoroughness, Jan H. Blits delineates the competing forms of virtue within ""Macbeth"" - the courageous public virtue of warriors like Macbeth and the internal Christian virtue evoked by Duncan. He describes the trust that leading characters in the play place in the power of virtue to rule the world and he explores the fundamental tension within the natural order between virtue and life. This new interpretation of ""Macbeth"" explains crucial paradoxes overlooked by previous scholars and it should serve as a model for future scholarship in the field.

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9780847682508

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Reviews

Jan Blits writes as carefully as he reads. From the smallest ingredients of the witches' brew to the broadest political and moral questions, this thoughtful interpretation is a marvelous guide to Shakespeare's craft and thought. -- Mera J. Flaumenhaft, St. John's College, Annapolis A most uncommon combination of meticulous detail and interpretative breadth, The Insufficiency of Virtue grasps the consequences of Shakespeare's meditation on natural virtue, fortune, necessity, monarchy, and Christianity in Macbeth. Because Blits takes nothing for granted, his masterfully detailed scrutiny of Macbeth enables readers to rediscover a play they may have thought they knew well. -- John Alvis, professor and director, American Studies Program, University of Dallas This is an impressive book-elegantly written, thorough, and provocative. -- Michael Davis, Sarah Lawrence College

Jan Blits writes as carefully as he reads. From the smallest ingredients of the witches' brew to the broadest political and moral questions, this thoughtful interpretation is a marvelous guide to Shakespeare's craft and thought. -- Mera J. Flaumenhaft, St. John's College, Annapolis A most uncommon combination of meticulous detail and interpretative breadth, The Insufficiency of Virtue grasps the consequences of Shakespeare's meditation on natural virtue, fortune, necessity, monarchy, and Christianity in Macbeth. Because Blits takes nothing for granted, his masterfully detailed scrutiny of Macbeth enables readers to rediscover a play they may have thought they knew well. -- John Alvis, professor and director, American Studies Program, University of Dallas This is an impressive book—elegantly written, thorough, and provocative. -- Michael Davis, Sarah Lawrence College

Jan Blits writes as carefully as he reads. From the smallest ingredients of the witches' brew to the broadest political and moral questions, this thoughtful interpretation is a marvelous guide to Shakespeare's craft and thought. -- Mera J. Flaumenhaft, St. John's College, Annapolis A most uncommon combination of meticulous detail and interpretative breadth, The Insufficiency of Virtue grasps the consequences of Shakespeare's meditation on natural virtue, fortune, necessity, monarchy, and Christianity in Macbeth. Because Blits takes nothing for granted, his masterfully detailed scrutiny of Macbeth enables readers to rediscover a play they may have thought they knew well. -- John Alvis, University of Dallas This is an impressive book-elegantly written, thorough, and provocative. -- Michael Davis, Sarah Lawrence College

Author Information

Jan H. Blits is Professor, Honors Faculty, at the University of Delaware.

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