Discovering Great Plays: As Literature and as Philosophy

by Leonard Peikoff

Based on a series of lectures by Leonard Peikoff and edited by Marlene Trollope, Discovering Great Plays provides the ability to understand, judge and savor the values offered by great drama. Plays discussed Antigone by Sophocles; Othello by Shakespeare; Le Cid by Corneille; Don Carlos by Schiller; An Enemy of the People by Ibsen; Saint Joan by Shaw; Monna Vanna by Maeterlinck, and Cyrano de Bergerac by Rostand. A list of recommended editions and translations is provided by the author. Readers will discover plot-theme as the key to a play; Antigone as a great heroine; Iago as the blackest villain in literature; the Cornelian hero; Schiller’s Grand Inquisitor scene as the most dramatic and philosophic in all theater; Ibsen and Ayn Rand’s Howard Roark; Shaw’s genius in presenting the genius against society; and Cyrano de Bergerac by Rostand. • About the Leonard Peikoff is the preeminent Rand Scholar writing today. He has taught philosophy at several places including Hunter College and New York University. Dr. Peikoff is author of The DIM Why the Lights of the West are Going Out, The Cause of Hitler’s Germany, and The Philosophy of Ayn Rand.

Genres: Literature, Plays

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 19, 2017

About the author

Leonard S. Peikoff (born October 15, 1933) is a Canadian-American philosopher. He is an author, a leading advocate of Objectivism and the founder of the Ayn Rand Institute. A former professor of philosophy, he was designated by the novelist Ayn Rand as heir to her estate. For several years, he hosted a radio talk show.

http://www.peikoff.com/bio.html

Reviews

[eamadariaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simplemente Genial

Un curso que cualquier persona, que tenga interes por la lectura, puede tomar para aprender amar los clàsicos. Iniciar por obras de teatro es una muy buena puerta de entrada

[Jeffrey Falk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is literary, dramatic, and philosophic analysis at its most penetrating and trenchant. The techniques and principles the author uses are invaluable, and reading his explications is invaluable and empowering. (There are slight editorial flaws or lacunae in the presentation of this recorded lecture course in book form where the intended meaning of the spoken words is difficult to decipher, but in general, the editing is excellent.)