French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Green, Spells of Seduction (Critical Readings of Shakespeare)
Other Literary Studies
André Green, Spells of Seduction: Critical Readings of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antony and Cleopatra, The Tempest, and The Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare
Odile Jacob Publishing, 2005, 168 p.
EAN : 9782738115737
21.90 €
Summary
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oberon's spells ensure that a potion extracted from a flower, when smeared on a sleeper's eyelids, makes them fall in love with the first person they see upon waking, leading to comical situations: Queen Titania falls in love with an ass. In Antony and Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt seduces Mark Antony after the death of Julius Caesar, exerting such influence over him that his endeavors end in catastrophe and the lovers' suicide. In The Tempest, Prospero, a sorcerer and magician, takes revenge on his enemies before giving his daughter Miranda in marriage. In \"The Phoenix and the Turtle\", the mythical creature deploys the spells of the supernatural. In all these works, different kinds of spells of seduction can be identified. Theater and poetry play no small part in this. A lover of Shakespeare, André Green puts his interpretive talents at the service of the writer who understood how essential illusion is to the human psyche.
Biography
André Green is a member and former president of the Paris Psychoanalytic Society. His published works include Psychic Causality, The Chains of Eros, and Clinical Thinking.
This volume examines the intricate mechanisms of enchantment, rhetoric, and emotional enthrallment across selected texts by William Shakespeare. By analyzing the dynamic between illusion and the human psyche, the author bridges psychoanalytic inquiry with Elizabethan drama and poetry. The discussion traverses both comedic and tragic registers, highlighting how theatrical artifice mirrors internal psychological states and interpersonal manipulation. Through careful close reading, the study illuminates the profound power that poetry and performance hold over characters and audiences alike, positioning Shakespeare as a master observer of deep-seated human motivations.
Readers interested in the intersections of literature, psychoanalysis, and cultural theory will find this work a compelling contribution to Shakespearean criticism. It offers valuable perspectives for scholars and enthusiasts seeking to understand how theatrical representation articulates complex emotional realities. By focusing on themes of magic, rhetoric, and relational dynamics, the text enriches our comprehension of Renaissance drama and its enduring resonance. The analysis is particularly useful for those exploring the deep structural links between aesthetic illusion and the inner workings of the mind.