French Reflections in the Shakespearean Tragic: Three Case Studies

Description

Hillman explores English tragedy in relation to France with a frank concentration on Shakespeare. He sets out to theorise more abstract tragic qualities (such as nostalgia, futility and heroism) with reference to specific French texts and contexts. Three manifestations of the 'Shakespearean tragic' are singled out: Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra a

Richard Hillman is Professor of English at the Universite Francois-Rabelais de Tours -- .

Richard Hillman broadens the field of known sources by moving from 'scraps' of plot and language' to more diffuse philosophical or political influences on three characters, each the product of an 'intertextual bricolage' which accounts for Shakespeare's 'ungrammaticalities'... One emerges quite dazzled by the extent of Hillman's learning. Dominique Goy-Blanquet, Times Literary Supplement, 19th October 2012|Hillman breathes renewed life into multiple diverse early modern French texts, illuminating their resonances with mostly canonical English works... There is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from Hillman's deep particular research in French sources-work that will undoubtedly inspire future inquiry., Kathryn Gucer, Independent Scholar, The Spenser Review, 2012|Hillman illuminates another elusive corner of Shakespeare's creative process with this study, representing another incremental - but certainly important - advancement in Shakespearean scholarship., Andrew Vorder Bruegge, Winthrop University, Sixteenth Century Journal XLV/2, Book Review, 2014 -- .