| Shakespeare's Double Helix Contributor(s): Turner, Henry S. (Author), Fernie, Ewan (Editor), Palfrey, Simon (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0826491200 ISBN-13: 9780826491206 Publisher: Continuum OUR PRICE: $34.60 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2008 Annotation: What does it mean to make life? Through close analysis of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and reflection on modern genetic engineering, Henry Turner examines developments in early modern culture as it sought to come to terms with the new forces of magic, astrology, alchemy and mechanics--fields of knowledge that promised limitless power over nature. He reveals the richness and peculiarity of early scientific thought and shows how the questions posed by Shakespeare remain fundamental as the nature of life has become one of the most pressing political, ethical, and philosophical problems for society today. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Shakespeare - Literary Criticism | Drama |
| Dewey: 822.33 |
| LCCN: 2007030356 |
| Series: Shakespeare Now! |
| Physical Information: 0.42" H x 5.24" W x 7.74" (0.36 lbs) 144 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: What does it mean to make life? This book focuses on one of the key questions for culture and science in both Shakespeare's time and our own. Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream during a period when the 'new science' had begun to unsettle the foundations of knowledge about the natural world. Through close analysis of the play and reflection on modern genetic engineering, Turner examines developments in early modern culture as it sought to come to terms with the new forces of magic, astrology, alchemy and mechanics - fields of knowledge that preoccupied the most adventurous intellects of Shakespeare's period and that promised limitless power over nature. Shakespeare's writing sheds light on current developments in science, ethics, law, and religion in contemporary culture. This book reveals the richness and peculiarity of early scientific thought in Shakespeare's time and shows how the questions he poses remain fundamental as the nature of 'life' has become one of the most pressing political, ethical, and philosophical problems for society today. |
Contributor Bio(s): Turner, Henry S.: - Henry S. Turner is Assistant Professor at Rutgers University, USA. He is the author of The English Renaissance Stage: Geometry, Poetics, and the Practical Spatial Arts (OUP, 2006).Palfrey, Simon: - Simon Palfrey is a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford University. His books include Late Shakespeare: A New World of Words (Oxford, 1997); Shakespeare in Parts (Oxford, 2007), written with Tiffany Stern and awarded the Medieval and Renaissance Drama Society's David Bevington Prize for best new book; Romeo and Juliet (Short Books, 2011); and the novel Dunsinane, written with Ewan Fernie. He is the founding editor (with Fernie) of Continuum's innovative series of 'minigraphs', Shakespeare Now! His new work includes a book on possible worlds in early modern drama and philosophy, and a play inspired by Spenser's Faerie Queen. His book Doing Shakespeare was published by Arden Shakespeare in 2005, reissued 2011.Fernie, Ewan: - Ewan Fernie is Professor and Chair of Shakespeare Studies at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, UK. He is the author of Shame in Shakespeare, the editor of Spiritual Shakespeares and general editor (with Simon Palfrey) of the Shakespeare Now! series. |