“Did not Shakespeare hate and despise Iago and Edmund?”
Identify the book in which this question has been mentioned.
Correct Answer :
Aspects of Poetry
Solution :
The correct option is Aspects of Poetry.
Explanation:
The question "Did not Shakespeare hate and despise Iago and Edmund?" is raised in the book Aspects of Poetry, which is a significant work of literary criticism written by John Campbell Shairp (1819–1885), a Scottish critic and academic who served as the Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford.
In this book, Shairp compiles a series of lectures and essays that examine the moral, spiritual, and aesthetic dimensions of poetry. When discussing the ethical standpoint of dramatists, particularly William Shakespeare, Shairp points to characters like Iago (from Othello) and Edmund (from King Lear). He argues that Shakespeare does not merely depict these villains with detached objectivity; rather, his characterization reveals an underlying moral judgment, suggesting that the playwright himself detested and condemned their absolute malice and lack of conscience.
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