Shakespeare, Love and Language

What is the nature of romantic love and erotic desire in Shakespeare's work? In this erudite and yet accessible study, David Schalkwyk addresses this question by exploring the historical contexts, theory and philosophy of love. Close readings of Shakespeare's plays and poems are delivered through the lens of historical texts from Plato to Montaigne, and modern writers including Jacques Lacan, Jean-Luc Marion, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Jacques Derrida, Alain Badiou and Stanley Cavell. Through these studies, it is argued that Shakespeare has no single or overarching concept of love, and that in Shakespeare's work, love is not an emotion. Rather, it is a form of action and disposition, to be expressed and negotiated linguistically.

• The first full-length study of love in the works of Shakespeare for thirty years
• Combines philosophical, historical, theoretical and linguistic approaches to the treatment of love on the works of William Shakespeare
• Provides close readings of Shakespeare's work illuminated by the ideas of writers such as Plato, Wittgenstein and Derrida