On King Lear, The Confessions, and Human Experience and Nature

Augustine's Confessions and Shakespeare's King Lear are two of the most influential and enduring works of the Western canon or world literature. But what does Stratford-upon-Avon have to do with Hippo, or the ascetical heretic-fighting polemicist with the author of some of the world's most beautiful love poetry? To answer these questions, Kim Paffenroth analyses the similarities and differences between the thinking of these two figures on the themes of love, language, nature and reason. Pairing and connecting the insights of Shakespeare's most nihilist tragedy with those of Augustine's most personal and sometimes self-condemnatory, sometimes triumphal work, challenges us to see their worldviews as more similar than they first seem, and as more relevant to our own fragmented and disillusioned world.

List of contents

Introduction: Origins and Ends

Chapter 1
Augustine and Power

Chapter 2
Lear and Power

Chapter 3
Augustine and Women in Confessions

Chapter 4
Women in King Lear

Chapter 5
Conclusion: Powerfully Present

Epilogue
Bibliography

About the author

Kim Paffenroth is Professor of Religious Studies and the Director of the Honors Program at Iona College, USA.

Product details

• Authors: Kim Paffenroth, Kim (Iona College Paffenroth
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 17.06.2021
• EAN: 9781350203198
• ISBN: 978-1-350-20319-8
• No. of pages: 192
• Dimensions: 134 mm x 216 mm x 16 mm
• Series: Reading Augustine
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Miscellaneous; PHILOSOPHY / Religious, Philosophy, RELIGION / Philosophy, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / General, Literature & literary studies, Philosophy of religion, Biography, Literature and Literary studies