Tragic Imagination in Shakespeare and Emerson

<p><strong>What is the tragic imagination? And what role does it play in the works of William Shakespeare and Ralph Waldo Emerson?</strong> Explaining the tragic imagination as a creative faculty employed to answer the perennial Riddle of the Sphinx</em> - a theory of the world that advances human freedom and dignity in the face of historical injustice cruelty and violence - Andy Amato seeks to recover and rehabilitate this concept by revealing its significance to both key works of philosophy and literature and our contemporary world.</p><p><br></p><p>This book begins with a close and careful reading of Emerson's first major work Nature </em>in conversation with nineteenth and 20thcentury continental philosophy critical theory and post-structuralism. Uncovering neglected elements of Emerson's philosophy beyond his reputation as the philosopher of 'cheer' this book explores how Emersonian transcendentalism affirms rather than denies the tragic sense of life - tragic idealism - and makes a substantial contribution to philosophy's perpetual endeavour to solve the Riddle.</em></p><p><br></p><p>In the second part of the book Amato then employs Emerson's theoretical lens to interpret Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear. </em>In doing so he innovatively reframes the central themes of suffering vision nature nothing foolishness and silence toward achieving liberation.</p><p><br></p><p>By pairing these two giants of literature and philosophy The Tragic Imagination in Shakespeare and Emerson </em>not only offers fresh interpretations of Nature </em>and King Lear</em> but also makes the case for the renewed deployment of tragic imagination in creative redress to our current social-political situation.</p>