Every Turn of the Wheel: Circular Time and Cordelia’s Revolt: from William Shakespeare to the British Enlightenment
This article argues that William Shakespeare's King Lear anticipates core political dynamics of the English Civil War (1641-49), and philosophical tenets of the British Enlightenment in John Locke and David Hume. It analyzes three principle and competing paradigms of public authority in King Le...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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New Bulgarian University
2017-05-01
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| Series: | English Studies at NBU |
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| Online Access: | https://esnbu.org/data/files/2017/esnbu.17.1.1.pdf |
| _version_ | 1828001945412960256 |
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| author | Tadd Graham Fernée |
| author_facet | Tadd Graham Fernée |
| author_sort | Tadd Graham Fernée |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article argues that William Shakespeare's King Lear anticipates core political dynamics of the English Civil War (1641-49), and philosophical tenets of the British Enlightenment in John Locke and David Hume. It analyzes three principle and competing paradigms of public authority in King Lear: theodicy, nature, and the autonomy of thought. The play is historically contextualized within the 16th century. King Lear, moreover, portends revolutionary new thought patterns: the centerless universe of modern astronomy, and human embeddedness in fluid nature without fixed identity. Three variants on the concept of "nothing" - existential, social, and philosophical - interweave the cosmic and political threads, based on a circular temporality. Shakespeare's character, Cordelia, affirms the everyday over the cosmic, and the sociological over the metaphysical. King Lear depicts a profound moral trans-valuation in early modern history, whose shifting temporal horizons remain central also to contemporary politics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T06:36:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9eb588ca2f77413b8cf5a4fbf1ddf49f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2367-5705 2367-8704 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T06:36:33Z |
| publishDate | 2017-05-01 |
| publisher | New Bulgarian University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | English Studies at NBU |
| spelling | doaj.art-9eb588ca2f77413b8cf5a4fbf1ddf49f2023-02-28T20:20:22ZengNew Bulgarian UniversityEnglish Studies at NBU2367-57052367-87042017-05-0131525https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.17.1.1Every Turn of the Wheel: Circular Time and Cordelia’s Revolt: from William Shakespeare to the British EnlightenmentTadd Graham Fernée0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4364-3463New Bulgarian University, Sofia, BulgariaThis article argues that William Shakespeare's King Lear anticipates core political dynamics of the English Civil War (1641-49), and philosophical tenets of the British Enlightenment in John Locke and David Hume. It analyzes three principle and competing paradigms of public authority in King Lear: theodicy, nature, and the autonomy of thought. The play is historically contextualized within the 16th century. King Lear, moreover, portends revolutionary new thought patterns: the centerless universe of modern astronomy, and human embeddedness in fluid nature without fixed identity. Three variants on the concept of "nothing" - existential, social, and philosophical - interweave the cosmic and political threads, based on a circular temporality. Shakespeare's character, Cordelia, affirms the everyday over the cosmic, and the sociological over the metaphysical. King Lear depicts a profound moral trans-valuation in early modern history, whose shifting temporal horizons remain central also to contemporary politics.https://esnbu.org/data/files/2017/esnbu.17.1.1.pdfwilliam shakespeareking leartudor historystuart historyenglish civil wardavid humeenlightenmentpolitical pluralismsecularismtheocracy |
| spellingShingle | Tadd Graham Fernée Every Turn of the Wheel: Circular Time and Cordelia’s Revolt: from William Shakespeare to the British Enlightenment English Studies at NBU william shakespeare king lear tudor history stuart history english civil war david hume enlightenment political pluralism secularism theocracy |
| title | Every Turn of the Wheel: Circular Time and Cordelia’s Revolt: from William Shakespeare to the British Enlightenment |
| title_full | Every Turn of the Wheel: Circular Time and Cordelia’s Revolt: from William Shakespeare to the British Enlightenment |
| title_fullStr | Every Turn of the Wheel: Circular Time and Cordelia’s Revolt: from William Shakespeare to the British Enlightenment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Every Turn of the Wheel: Circular Time and Cordelia’s Revolt: from William Shakespeare to the British Enlightenment |
| title_short | Every Turn of the Wheel: Circular Time and Cordelia’s Revolt: from William Shakespeare to the British Enlightenment |
| title_sort | every turn of the wheel circular time and cordelia s revolt from william shakespeare to the british enlightenment |
| topic | william shakespeare king lear tudor history stuart history english civil war david hume enlightenment political pluralism secularism theocracy |
| url | https://esnbu.org/data/files/2017/esnbu.17.1.1.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT taddgrahamfernee everyturnofthewheelcirculartimeandcordeliasrevoltfromwilliamshakespearetothebritishenlightenment |