How it is to be understood that the towering poet, thinker and philosopher Shakespeare dared at any time to use the literary genre
of a philosophical treatise (in poem form)?
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1599 a high profile poet "John Davies" (J.D.) published the philosophic poem "Nosce teipsum".-
According to Yale Professor for Philosophy Elias H. Sneath :
According to Yale Professor for Philosophy Elias H. Sneath :
"Nosce Teipsum" "...is regarded by competent critics as one of the finest pieces of philosophical verse in the English language, a masterpiece of metrical philosophy."
The poem considers the problem of knowledge and mans capacity to know and the problem of the reality of the soul. According to J.R.Brink *1
"Nosce Teipsum" provides us with an impressive example of the influence of rhetorical theory upon the structure of a Renaissance poem.
Also for Shakespeare, it is possible to find throughout his plays and poetry, the handling of many philosophical problems, themes and ideas, as well as the traces of several philosophical influences and readings.
How can it be explained that at the height of Shakespeare's creative period (1599) an independent person wrote such an outstanding poetic and philosophical work?
*1) The Rhetorical structure of Sir John Davies 's Nosce Teipsum. The yearbook of English Studies 1974
How can it be explained that at the height of Shakespeare's creative period (1599) an independent person wrote such an outstanding poetic and philosophical work?
*1) The Rhetorical structure of Sir John Davies 's Nosce Teipsum. The yearbook of English Studies 1974
