Leo Tolstoy

Gebundenes Buch

TOLSTOY ON SHAKESPEARE

Beschreibung

The author remembers the astonishment he felt when he first read Shakespeare. He expected to receive a powerful aesthetic pleasure, but having read, one after the other, works regarded as Shakespeare's best: "King Lear," "Romeo and Juliet," "Hamlet" and "Macbeth," not only did the author feel no delight, but he felt an irresistible repulsion and tedium, and doubted as to whether he was senseless in feeling works regarded as the summit of perfection by the whole of the civilized world to be trivial and positively bad, or whether the significance which this civilized world attributes to the works of Shakespeare was itself senseless. At the present time, before writing this preface, being desirous once more to test himself, the author, as an old man of seventy-five, again read the whole of Shakespeare, including the historical plays, the "Henrys," "Troilus and Cressida," the "Tempest," "Cymbeline," and he has felt, with even greater force, the same feelings,-this time, however, not of bewilderment, but of firm, indubitable conviction that the unquestionable glory of a great genius which Shakespeare enjoys, and which compels writers of his time to imitate him and readers and spectators to discover in him non-existent merits,-thereby distorting their aesthetic and ethical understanding,-is a great evil, as is every untruth.

Autor

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian writer and philosopher, best known for his novels "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina." He was born into an aristocratic family in Tula, Russia, and was educated at home by private tutors. After serving in the army, Tolstoy embarked on a literary career, publishing his first novel, "Childhood," in 1852. Over the course of his career, he became one of the most important figures in Russian literature, and his novels are regarded as classics of world literature. In addition to his literary work, Tolstoy was also a committed social and political activist, and he wrote extensively on issues such as pacifism, anarchism, and the role of the individual in society. He was critical of the Russian Orthodox Church and the state, and his views on these topics led to his excommunication from the church in 1901. Tolstoy's later years were marked by a spiritual awakening, and he became increasingly interested in the teachings of Jesus Christ. He embraced a philosophy of simple living and nonviolence, and his ideas had a profound impact on figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Tolstoy died of pneumonia in 1910, but his work continues to be studied and admired around the world for its insight into the human condition and its exploration of complex social and political issues.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: MJP Publisher
• Seitenzahl: 136
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Juli 2021
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 209mm x 132mm x 11mm
• Gewicht: 245g
• ISBN-13: 9788180942174
• ISBN-10: 8180942171
• Artikelnr.: 62606295