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8
Preface
Pericles).Forthereasonsjuststated,Iintroducethecategoryofhuman
timeanddefineitinrelationtowhatinmypreviousbookItermednatu-
ralororganictime.
Despitetheseeminglycomplexstructureofthisbook,thesectionsde-
votedtoparticularplaysarerelativelyautonomousandcanbereadas
such.Thereisnoconcludingsectioninthestrictsense;thefinalchapter
performsthefunctionoftyingupthedifferenttime-relatedthemesand
theaccompanyingrhetoricalandtheatricalstrategiesthatwereliftedout
ofthetextureofthefourplaysanalysedearlier.Inparticular,ittracesare-
demptivemovementinShakespeare)streatmentofnaturaltime,apassage
fromthetragicsenseofcursedtemporalityinthetragediestotheem-
phaticaffirmationsofPericles.
Throughout,thefocusisontheShakespearetextsthemselvesandcrit-
icaldebatehasbeenrelegatedtothemargin.Thebroadandsometimes
bafflingvarietyofscholarlyapproachestotheproblemoftime,totimein
literature,andtotimeinShakespeare,aswellasdistinctionsofchieflyac-
ademicnature(areascoveredinsomedetailinmypreviousbook)have
beenoverviewedintheIntroductionandthenlargelyleftbehind.
ThereisanotherreasonforpublishingthesestudiesandIfeelobliged
torevealit,eventhoughitisnotofastrictlyacademicnature.Unlikethe
previouswork,thishasbeenlonginpreparationandthusmayjustifiably
claimtheco-parenthoodoftimeitself.Thisrevisitingofthetimeproblem
inShakespearehasbeenanopportunityformetorereadandinterpretmy
favouriteplays.Atthesametime,someoftheplaysclose-analysedinthis
bookhavebecomemyacquaintancesthroughrepeatedteachingoverthe
pastseveralyears.Theunitedforcesoffondnessandfamiliarityexert
apressureforexpressioninwritingwhichisdifficultforthemindtowith-
stand.Therearemanywaystodiscoverdrama,astherearemanywaysto
discoverShakespeare1mineinbothcaseswas,yearsago,throughthe
timeproblem.Itismyfondhopethatsomehowthesepageshaveretained
someoftheenthusiasmthatanimateseverydiscoverer.
Thoughpreparedincompliancewiththerulesofacademicpublica-
tion,thisbookhasnotbeenwrittenwithShakespearescholarsasitsonly
intendedreaders.Adegreeofacquaintancewiththeplaysdiscussedhere
isrequired,tobesure;thereaderiskindlyadvisedtostudytheplayson
hisorherownbeforereadingthese“studies,”becausetherehasbeenno
roomforthesummarisingofplotsortheintroducingofcharacters.But
theseinterpretationsarefirstandforemostrenewedattempts1or“es-
says”1tocometotermswithtimeasa“factor”(someawkwardtermof
thiskindmustcontentus,fornonewilladequatelydefinetime)ofsu-
premesignificanceinbothhumanlifeandindrama.Ascreaturesen-
dowed1somewouldprefertosay“burdened”1withconsciousness,we
