Alchemy, Paracelsianism, and Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale
This book explores the role of alchemy, Paracelsianism, and Hermetic philosophy in one of Shakespeare's last plays, The Winter's Tale. A perusal of the vast literary and iconographic repertory of Renaissance alchemy reveals that this late play is imbued with topoi, myths, and emblematic im...
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| Formato: | Libro electrónico |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
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Cham :
Springer International Publishing
2022.
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| Edición: | 1st ed |
| Colección: | Springer eBooks.
Palgrave Studies in Literature, Science and Medicine, |
| Acceso en línea: | Conectar con la versión electrónica |
| Ver en Universidad de Navarra: | https://innopac.unav.es/record=b47145572*spi |
| Sumario: | This book explores the role of alchemy, Paracelsianism, and Hermetic philosophy in one of Shakespeare's last plays, The Winter's Tale. A perusal of the vast literary and iconographic repertory of Renaissance alchemy reveals that this late play is imbued with topoi, myths, and emblematic imagery coming from coeval alchemical, Paracelsian, and Hermetic sources. All the major symbols of alchemy are present in Shakespeare's play: the intertwined serpents of the caduceus, the chemical wedding, the filius philosophorum, and the so-called rex chymicus. This book also provides an in-depth survey of late Renaissance alchemy, Paracelsian medicine, and Hermetic culture in the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages. Importantly, it contends that The Winter's Tale, in symbolically retracing the healing pattern of the rota alchemica and in emphasising the Hermetic principles of unity and concord, glorifies King James's conciliatory attitude. |
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| Descripción Física: | XXI, 377 páginas, 28 ilustraciones, 24 ilustraciones (color) |
| Formato: | Forma de acceso: World Wide Web. |
