Shakespeare's Feminine Endings: Disfiguring Death in the Tragedies (Feminist Readings of Shakespeare)

In This Elegant And Provocative Book, Philippa Berry Draws On Feminist Theory, Postmodern Thought And Queer Theory, To Challenge Existing Critical Notions Of What Is 'fundamental' To Shakespearean Tragedy. She Shows How, Through A Network Of Images Clustered Around Feminine Or Feminized Characters, These Plays 'disfigure' Conventional Ideas Of Death As A Bodily End, As Their Figures Of Women Are Interwoven With Provocative Meditations Upon Matter, Time, The Soul, And The Body. The Scope Of These Tragic Speculations Was Radical In Shakespeare's Day; Yet They Also Have A Surprising Relevance To Contemporary Debates About Time And Matter In Science And Philosophy. Disfigured Endings: Sexual Matters And Shakespeare's Ars Moriendi -- Double Dying And Other Tragic Inversions (romeo And Juliet) -- Echoic Language And Tragic Identity (hamlet) -- Disclosing The Feminine Eye Of Death: Tragedy And Seeing In The Dark (othello) -- Fortune's Fools: Revolutions Of Time, Fate And Sovereignty (macbeth) -- Cordelia's Bond And Britannia's Missing Middle (king Lear). Philippa Berry. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. 1. Disfigured endings : sexual matters and Shakespeare's ars moriendi -- 2. Double dying and other tragic inversions (Romeo and Juliet) -- 3. Echoic language and tragic identity (Hamlet) -- 4. Disclosing the feminine eye of death : tragedy and seeing in the dark (Othello) -- 5. Fortune's fools : revolutions of time, fate and sovereignty (Macbeth) -- 6. Cordelia's bond and Britannia's missing middle (King Lear)