Psychology According to Shakespeare HB
Psychology According to Shakespeare HB
Couldn't load pickup availability
Psychology According to Shakespeare
Philip G Zimbardo (Author)
William Shakespeare has undergone psychological analyses ever since Freud diagnosed Hamlet with an Oedipus complex. But now, two psychologists propose to turn the tables by telling how Shakespeare himself understood human behavior and the innermost workings of the human mind. Psychology According to Shakespeare: What You Can Learn About Human Nature From Shakespeare's Great Plays, is an interdisciplinary project that bridges psychological science and literature, bringing together for the first time in one volume, the breadth and depth of The Bard’s knowledge of love, jealousy, dreams, betrayal, revenge, and the lust for power and position.
Even today, there is no better depiction of a psychopath than Richard III, no more poignant portrayal of dementia than King Lear, nor a more unforgettable illustration of obsessive-compulsive disorder than Lady Macbeth’s attempts to wash away the damned blood spot. What has not been revealed before, however, are the many different forms of mental illness The Bard described in terms that are now identifiable in the modern manual of disorders known as the DSM-5.
But, as the book shows, the playwright’s fascination with human nature extended far beyond mental disorders, ranging across the psychological spectrum, from brain anatomy to personality, cognition, emotion, perception, lifespan development, and states of consciousness. To illustrate, we have stories to tell involving astrology, potions, poisons, the four fluids called “humors,” anatomical dissections of freshly hanged criminals, and a mental hospital called Bedlam—all showing how his perspective was grounded in the medicine and culture of his time.
Yet, Will Shakespeare’s intellect, curiosity, and temperament allowed him to see other ideas and issues that would become important in psychological science centuries later. Many of these connections between Shakespeare and psychology lie scattered in books, articles, and web pages across the public domain, but they have never been brought together into a single volume. So, here the authors retell of his fashioning the felicitous phrase, nature-nurture for Prospero to utter in frustration with Caliban and of how the nature-nurture dichotomy would become central in psychology’s quest to understand the tension between heredity and environment. But that was still far from all, for they discovered that his work anticipated multiple other psychological tensions. For example, in Measure for Measure, he made audiences puzzle over which exerts the greater influence on human behavior: internal traits or the external situation. And in Hamlet, he explored the equally enigmatic push-pull between reason and emotion in the mind of the dithering prince.
Aside from bringing together The Bard’s known psychology, the book is unique in several other respects. It reveals how his interest in mind and behavior ranged across the full spectrum of psychology, including topics that we now call biopsychology and neuroscience, social psychology, thinking and intelligence, motivation and emotion, and reason vs intuition. Further, we show how the psychological concepts he used have evolved over the intervening centuries—for example, the Elizabethan notion of sensus communis eventually became “consciousness” and the old idea of the humors morphed into our current understanding of hormones and neurotransmitters. We also note that some of Mr. Shakespeare’s concerns seem especially timely today, as in the subplot of queer vs straight issues complicating the story of Troilus and Cressida and in Shylock’s telling of prejudices inflicted on ethnic minorities.
Paperback: 344 pages
ISBN: 9781633889606
Dimensions: 16 x 3.05 x 23.62 cm
Shipping & Returns
Shipping & Returns
Delivery Prices
All UK order are despatched via Royal Mail. Delivery charges are based on the total weight of goods ordered and will be calculated at checkout. Orders with Posters require separate packaging, therefore extra postage charges are applied.
UK Royal Mail 24 and 48
Up to 150g - £1.99
150g - 1kg - £3.50
1kg - 2kg - £4.50
2kg - 5kg - £8.00
For UK orders over 5kg in weight, please contact mailorder@rsc.org.uk for shipping costs.
International Tracked
There is a temporary hold to delivering to the USA.
This service is fully tracked to delivery point.
Europe delivery aim: 3-5 working days
Worldwide delivery aim: 5-7 working days
Delivery charges are based on the total weight of goods ordered and will be calculated at checkout.
For overseas orders over 3.5kg in weight, please contact mailorder@rsc.org.uk for shipping costs.
EU Delivery Information
There may be local duty and/or taxes payable on goods delivered outside the UK. The Royal Shakespeare Company is not liable for paying these charges.
Customs charges and policies vary widely from country to country. Orders for international shipping will be subject to import duties and taxes levied on arrival in their destination country. You are liable for any additional charges for customs clearance and if a package is refused and has to be returned to us, you will also be liable for the cost of this. If you are unsure of charges and regulations which may apply to your order, please contact your local customs office for further information. Generally, customs forms for internal packages will list the value of the contents of your order by product type.
Will I receive confirmation when my goods are shipped?
Yes; following your order confirmation we aim to process and ship your order within 1-2 days. However, any orders that are placed on a Friday afternoon, Saturday, Sunday or a UK public holiday shall be processed as of the following Monday or as of the next working day.
In certain cases where your order is likely to be delayed, such as where items are out of stock, we will contact you.
Shipping methods
Most UK orders are sent through Royal Mail packet post; this is a 3 day service from dispatch. Delivery speed where stated in days are based on working days (Monday-Friday) and exclude the day of posting, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays in the UK and overseas.
Please be aware that orders may be dispatched in more than one package and although they are dispatched at the same time they may arrive separately. The number of packages will be recorded on the address label.
Delivery
If your order has taken longer than the estimated delivery time we would advise customers to check with their local post office before contacting us.
If your order does not arrive within 7 days (UK) or 30 days (overseas and Europe), and in the unlikely event you have not been contacted, please contact us by emailing mailorder@rsc.org.uk
Pre-orders
We take payment when you place your order; your items will be dispatched once they arrive in stock. If your order contains both pre-order and in-stock items, we will dispatch the in-stock items immediately, and the pre-order items when they arrive – there is no additional shipping cost for this service.
Can I give a separate delivery and billing address?
Yes, during the checkout process you will have the option to specify both a billing and delivery address.
Can I send individual items to different addresses?
Unfortunately it is not possible to specify more than one delivery address per order. Should you need to send items to more than one address, you will need to place separate orders.
Can I send an order as a gift?
Your goods can be dispatched to any address you choose.
EU Delivery Information
EU Delivery Information
There may be local duty and/or taxes payable on goods delivered outside the UK. The Royal Shakespeare Company is not liable for paying these charges.
Customs charges and policies vary widely from country to country. Orders for international shipping will be subject to import duties and taxes levied on arrival in their destination country. You are liable for any additional charges for customs clearance and if a package is refused and has to be returned to us, you will also be liable for the cost of this. If you are unsure of charges and regulations which may apply to your order, please contact your local customs office for further information. Generally, customs forms for internal packages will list the value of the contents of your order by product type.
Your privacy is important to us and we know that you care about how information about your order is used and shared. You should be aware that cross-border deliveries are subject to opening and inspection by customs authorities.
ALL PURCHASES SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY