ESA049 Shakespeare and the Question of Evil

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2008
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 4 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: k (colloquium). Other types of completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Petr Osolsobě, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Petr Osolsobě, Ph.D.
Department of Aesthetics – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Ing. Ivana Vašinová
Timetable
Tue 15:00–16:35 zruseno D22
Prerequisites
Course is a very good way to develop advanced academic reading abilities in classical literature. Students must be able to present and defend their own opinions and to accept constructive criticism and advice. Tackling topics in depth and defending the arguments in their written work sharpens their thinking.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 240 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/240, only registered: 0/240, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/240
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 35 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Shakespeare reflects many different forms of evil in the most of his plays (physical, psychic evil, social, metaphysical etc.). To analyse those phenomena according to moral philosophy of his time in the light of their dramatic developement provides a student with an effective tool for deeper understanding of the ethico-religious characteristic of Shakespeare's art.
Syllabus
  • Analysis of Evil and its effects in 1) structure of human personality, 2) social structure, 3) metaphysical order
  • randomness of evil vs. necessity (according to Aristotle), evil as a deficiency of the good (Augustinian principle)
  • evil as a lack of co-ordination; transgression of the order of love
  • evil as mental illness, daemonic possession
  • catharsis and recovery
  • Shakespeare plays in the analysis: MACBETH, HAMLET, evil in SONNETS, THE RAPE OF LUCRECE
Literature
  • OSOLSOBĚ, Petr. Sir Thomas More: Less Collaborative, More Shakespearean. Pavel Drábek, Klára Kolinská and Matthew Nicholls, eds. In Shakespeare and His Collaborators over the Centuries. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2008, p. 67-75. ISBN 978-1-84718-978-3. info
  • OSOLSOBĚ, Petr. The Classical Tradition of the Ethics of Virtue in Shakespeare's Hamlet. In Care of the Soul, Quest for Virtue:Essays in Search of Our European Spiritual Heritage, Petr Osolsobě, Martin Cajthaml (eds.). Brno: CDK, 2008, p. 75-84. ISBN 978-80-7325-139-0. info
  • OSOLSOBĚ, Petr. Hamletova řeč k hercům v perspektivě jezuitského didaktického divadla (Hamlet's Speech on Acting in the Perspective of the Jesuit School Theatre). In Ad honorem Bořivoj Srba. Brno: Eugenie Dufková a Hana Drozdová (eds.), JAMU, 2006, p. 89-97. ISBN 80-86928-16-0. info
  • OSOLSOBĚ, Petr. Milenci a poutníci: Shakespearova cesta (Lovers and Pilgrims: Shakespeare's Way). In program Divadla Astorka - Bratislava. 2006th ed. Bratislava: Astorka - Korso 90', 2006, p. 1-6, 5 pp. info
  • OSOLSOBĚ, Petr. La relazione tra apparenza e realta nelle questioni etiche secondo Aristotele (Appearence and Reality in The Ethical Matters According To Aristotle). In Antonio Da Re, Gabriele De Anna: Virtu, Natura e Normativita. Padova: Il Poligrafo, 2004, p. 39-49. ISBN 88-7115-432-0. info
  • Oxford English dictionary CD-ROM, version 3.0. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, 2 CD-ROMy. info
  • HODEK, Břetislav. William Shakespeare : kronika hereckého života. Praha: Naše vojsko, 1994. ISBN 8020604820. info
  • Biblia Palaeobohema codicis Dresdensis ac Olomucensis cum partibus codicis Litomericenis-Trebonensis :editio critica bibliae Bohemae versionis antiquissimae XIV. saeculi. Edited by Vladimír Kyas. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1985, 437 s. URL info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. Ze sonetů Williama Shakespeara. Edited by Jan Vladislav - Břetislav Hodek. 1. vyd. Praha: Vyšehrad, 1951, 70 s. info
  • CHUDOBA, František. Kniha o Shakespearovi. D. 2, Dílo. V Praze: Jan Laichter, 1943, 854 s. : i. info
  • CHUDOBA, František. Kniha o Shakespearovi. Díl 1. Praha: Jan Laichter, 1941, 815 s. info
  • The pocket Bible : the King James version. New York: Pocket Books, 1941, xviii, 489. info
Assessment methods
written test, oral exam
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
Information on completion of the course: test na základě látky přednášek a zadané literatury
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.
General note: Předmět je vhodný pro všechny posluchače MU !.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2005, Spring 2012.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2008, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2008/ESA049