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Title: Shakespeare's Understanding of Honor: Understanding of Honor (Studies in Statesmanship) by John Alvis ISBN: 0-89089-382-9 Publisher: Carolina Academic Press Pub. Date: June, 1990 Format: Hardcover List Price(USD): $34.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: The Best!
Comment: Dr.Alvis' study is truly remarkable. Honor is the theme of politics - there are few motives that drive man to serve the common-weal. This said, Alvis is not satisfied to sift through the verities of political life, he is also interested in the life that is beyond the political stage. The true merit of this book lies in Alvis' ability to see the noble within an emaciated Denmark or a womanized England.

For those interested in the true greatness of Shakespeare, this is your only stop. What kind of knowledge do the great ones have? What is the motivation for the philosopher to engage in public life. No one understands the theoretical life, as presented by Shakespeare, as well as Alvis.

Rating: 4
Summary: Shakespeare's Understanding of Honor
Comment: John Alvis' book, Shakespeare's Understanding of Honor, is not simply an in-depth study of Shakespeare's plays, it is also a comprehensive survey of the perennial issues facing political societies which claim to be committed to both justice and equality. Alvis notes that, "We seem to have good cause to distrust honor as a principle of moral and political life, yet our depreciation of the motive entails costs. The ideal of equality is our best guide to justice but perhaps not by itself sufficient to nourish other strengths of mind and heart." What does it mean, for instance, that the signatories to the Declaration of Independence pledged their "sacred honor" when founding a nation which now associates the word honor with, as Alvis suggests, designs against our liberty? This is not an antiquarian study, but instead one which is highly relevant to today's political discourse, and it is refreshing because it invites us to read Shakespeare as a guide through the complexities of politics.

Above all, however, Alvis' work is an intelligent and close examination of some of Shakespeare's principal works, including the Rape of Lucrece, the English History plays, the Roman plays, Hamlet, and the Tempest. Alvis believes that Shakespeare's dramas compel readers to test moral principles by tracing through the consequences of acting on those principles. He increases one's appreciation for the depth of Shakespeare's engagement with the major themes of western philosophic thought at the same time that he enlarges our own understanding of these topics.

His book has the added benefit of teaching us how to read Shakespeare, that is, with the greatest care and attention to detail and nuance. Reading Shakespeare as Alvis does is like sleuthing a great mystery where every utterance of the characters must be compared against the background and action of the play in order to adduce their motives and intentions, their successes and failures.

Alvis' work testifies to the worth of such study. He gives the reader a glimpse of the precious coin such care in reading repays. Readers of this book will come away with a refined education in politics and a deep understanding of Shakespeare's works.