There is a fun article on what bloggers owe to Michel de Montaigne by Sarah Bakewell over at my favorite blog these days.
"It’s possible that Shakespeare also borrowed a little of Montaigne’s character when working on Hamlet. Like the prince, Montaigne thought too much and was haunted by his own inconsistency and indecisiveness. 'We are, I know not how, double within ourselves,' he wrote. 'We are all patchwork, and so shapeless and diverse in composition that each bit, each moment, plays its own game.' He even observed that brooding on all the consequences of actions makes it impossible to do anything—exactly Hamlet’s problem." I'd like to learn more about this alleged influence on Shakespeare. I wonder if Montaigne was a Gemini... The notion of this "double within ourselves" fascinates me. In another book I started reading (the fact that it has taken a back seat on the reading list says nothing about its caliber or appeal), Primo Levi's biography The Double Bond by Carole Angier, also explores a similar duality within Levi's complex psychology.
Can't say I don't feel him on this on some level, especially when Bakewell writes, “ 'I cannot keep my subject still,' he said. 'It goes along befuddled and staggering, with a natural drunkenness.' His writing followed the same wayward path." This very much applies to my attention span during most of daily life, although I like to think that it's less "distraction" and more "multi-tasking and expeditious processing". Move over Levi-Strauss, I might have a new parachronistic soulmate. Another day in self-evaluation through literature... And another 6 books to add to my Goodreads to-read list.
"It’s possible that Shakespeare also borrowed a little of Montaigne’s character when working on Hamlet. Like the prince, Montaigne thought too much and was haunted by his own inconsistency and indecisiveness. 'We are, I know not how, double within ourselves,' he wrote. 'We are all patchwork, and so shapeless and diverse in composition that each bit, each moment, plays its own game.' He even observed that brooding on all the consequences of actions makes it impossible to do anything—exactly Hamlet’s problem." I'd like to learn more about this alleged influence on Shakespeare. I wonder if Montaigne was a Gemini... The notion of this "double within ourselves" fascinates me. In another book I started reading (the fact that it has taken a back seat on the reading list says nothing about its caliber or appeal), Primo Levi's biography The Double Bond by Carole Angier, also explores a similar duality within Levi's complex psychology.
Can't say I don't feel him on this on some level, especially when Bakewell writes, “ 'I cannot keep my subject still,' he said. 'It goes along befuddled and staggering, with a natural drunkenness.' His writing followed the same wayward path." This very much applies to my attention span during most of daily life, although I like to think that it's less "distraction" and more "multi-tasking and expeditious processing". Move over Levi-Strauss, I might have a new parachronistic soulmate. Another day in self-evaluation through literature... And another 6 books to add to my Goodreads to-read list.
No comments:
Post a Comment