Resolution and the Briefest End: Suicide in Shakespeare's Tragedies: Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Timon of Athens, Othello, and Julius Caesar - Softcover

AL-Qassas, Ra'ed Ali

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1453896546 ISBN 13: 9781453896549

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011

Synopsis

Suicide is fundamental when it comes to characters reaching a state of immortality in Shakespeare's tragedies, and in Resolution and the Briefest End: Suicide in Shakespeare's Tragedies, Ra'ed AL-Qassas studies this theory in great detail. Dedicated to sparking a renewed interest in these plays, and resuscitating a particular tragedy that has been neglected for many years, namely Timon of Athens, he focuses on the psychology of the Shakespearean hero, which brings into play a modern appreciation of the Bard's works. Imprisoned behind university walls, Christopher Marlowe's works have consequently faded away, while Shakespeare's plays are very much alive because of their suicidal content, a component that has always intrigued and fascinated audiences throughout the ages. What makes this book such an interesting read is that the author has detected three patterns of suicide in Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Timon of Athens, Othello, and Julius Caesar, which he classifies as nihilistic, emot

About this title

About the Author:

Ra'ed AL-Qassas was born in Jordan on March 3, 1965. He earned a Masters Degree in English Literature and Criticism from Yarmouk University in 1998. His interest in both psychology and literature, along with his love of Shakespeare, led him to examine the many facets of suicide in the playwright's tragedies. The idea of the book originated through the many discussions with a friend, Yazeed Sha'ban, while he was a student at Delhi University in 1993. Working as an English language teacher for twelve years, the author now lives in Qatar where he is currently writing his second book, Arabs, Jews, and Turks: Aliens in English Renaissance Literature.

Review:

Written for academics, the well-educated, and Shakespeare fans, the book by AL-Qassas is devoid of the dry and pretentious drone found in many works of literary criticism.
--Foreword Clarion Reviews

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1453896546
• ISBN 13: 9781453896549
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 83