But I am fearful we will and, like Prospero, I am vexed by the scale of our ingratitude. Author: Sharon O'Dair (Editor), Timothy Francisco (Editor) Hardcover Feb 2019. Will we allow “ the cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, / The solemn temples” to “ dissolve / And. Gratitude is crucial, I think, as we negotiate extraordinary, even existential pressures, not just to individuals, families, and states, but to the great globe itself, on which we all depend. And not just for those, like me, a working-class kid from southern California, who have been given so much by Shakespeare-and by all who profess and study his works, or perform them. Noting the rise over the past decade of s. Sharon ODair is Associate Professor of English, University of Alabama. Denise Albaneses Extramural Shakespeare and place of Shakespeare in contemporary. Gratitude, therefore, is a crucial Shakespearean lesson for the twenty-first century. Sharon ODair observes that in these same readings, class privilege has remained. ODair, Sharon (2002) Toward a Postmodern Pastoral: Another Look at the Cultural Politics of My Own Private Idaho, Journal X: Vol. Ingratitude is so easy today we might think disaster must be around every corner.Īnd disaster may well be, environmental disaster. Hudson Strode Professor of English and the Director of the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies. Sharon ODair, Emma Depledge, Anna Cetera, Courtney Lehmann, Poonam Trivedi, Bi-Qi Beatrice Lei, Graham Holderness, Jill L. Worse, our everyday acquaintance with ingratitude reveals its ubiquity. Some years ago, I published an essay in a forum on Shakespeare and Ecology, arguing that historical work in the early. Is Cordelia ungrateful when she performs her duty in answering her father, the King? Are Timon’s friends ungrateful when they refuse to help one who seemed to be buying their friendship? Does ingratitude for the Romans differ from ingratitude for Shakespeare or for us? These are questions for scholars and the classroom, but even our everyday acquaintance with ingratitude reveals its sting, its potential for disaster. Of course defining ingratitude remains difficult. Cropping up mostly in the tragedies (my first and enduring Shakespearean love) and mostly in those set before the Christian era- King Lear, notably, and Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Troilus and Cressida, and Timon of Athens-ingratitude causes disaster for individuals, families, and states.

And despite using the word only twenty-one times, it’s safe to say William Shakespeare didn’t like ingratitude very much. It’s an ugly word matching an ugly behavior.

Sharon o dair