Of Philosophers and Kings: Political Philosophy in Shakespeare's «Macbeth» and «King Lear»

David E. Kemp, a former professor of drama at Queen’s University, is
the author of The Pleasures and Treasures of the United Kingdom.

Leon Harold Craig teaches political science at the University of
Alberta. The central thesis of this resourceful work is that Shakespeare
was as great a philosopher as he was a poet, and that his greatness as a
poet derived more from his power as a thinker than from his genius for
linguistic expression. Although Macbeth and King Lear are the primary
focus of the study, there are extensive comments on Othello, The
Winter’s Tale, and Measure for Measure.

The author argues cogently that Shakespeare incorporated metaphysics,
cosmology, and man’s confrontation with nature into his plays in order
to challenge and encourage his audience to think in philosophical terms.
Macbeth and King Lear are philosophical rulers who demonstrate the
tensions that exist between philosophy and politics and between
knowledge and power. However, I believe that Shakespeare’s achievement
as a philosophical writer is secondary to his deep understanding of
human nature and his remarkable insight into human relations.
Nevertheless, Of Philosophers and Kings is a significant piece of
scholarship that makes an important contribution to our understanding
some of the principles of Shakespearean drama.