Chiara Alfano, Derrida Reads Shakespeare – Edinburgh University Press, 2020

Looks really interesting, but shame about the prohibitive price, even for the e-book…

Explores Jacques Derrida’s distinctive approach to Shakespeare

Offers the first comprehensive and accessible account and discussion of Derrida’s engagement with Shakespeare

Challenges the way we have traditionally come to think about the interdisciplinary relationship between literature and philosophy, as well as literary genius

Contextualises Derrida’s readings of Shakespeare within his wider philosophical project and discusses in how far they relate to – or are distinct from – his engagement with other dramatic or literary works

This book brings to light Derrida’s rich and thought-provoking discussions of Shakespearean drama. Contextualising Derrida’s readings of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice and King Lear within his wider philosophical project, Alfano explores what draws Derrida to Shakespeare and what makes him particularly suitable for philosophical thought. The author also makes the case for Derrida’s singular understanding of the relationship between philosophy and Shakespeare and his radical idea of what literary genius is.