Description
Book SynopsisFocusing squarely on the strength of mimesis as a philosophical idea, this collection of essays considers aspects of mimesis ranging from Shakespeare to colonialism. As the philosophical agenda of major thinkers and writers responds to representational crises like post-structuralism and postmodernism, attention is turning away from artistic expressivity and back towards uses of mimesis. The nine included essays present a varied set of theoretical ideas and challenge the ingrained concept that mimesis is only a transparent reflection of reality. This fresh assessment of an ancient and much-cited practice brings new attention to the ways in which the early modern period made use of such representation.
Table of ContentsJonathan Holmes: 'Marble-constant': Mimesis and The Winter's Tale; Paul Innes: 'Pluck but his name out of his heart': A Caesarean Cross-section; Vance Adair: 'Tis in Reversion That I Do Possess': Speculation and Destination in Richard II; Adrian Streete: 'The Iniquity of the Fathers': Masculinity, Revenge and Representation in The Revenger's Tragedy; Gabriel Egan: Platonism and Bathos in Shakespeare and other early modern dramas; Monika Smialkowska: Court Masque: An Idealist Mimesis?; Christian Billing: The Distorting Mirror: Theatrical Mimesis on the Early Modern Transvestite Stage; Roger Starling: 'Scenes from the life of one who is suited for nothing': The 'Subject' of Mimesis in Shakespeare and Contemporary French Thought; Poonam Trivedi: 'Bananas on a Mango Tree': The Paradoxical Hybridities of a Colonising Mimesis
