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What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Psychoanalysis: A Local Habitation and a Name

Author(s) : Dorothy T. Grunes, Author(s) : Jerome M. Grunes

Reviews and Endorsements

‘If, like me, you have a passion for Shakespeare and his plays, then you should read this book. It is full of fascinating facts and information. The writers have a true understanding of “The Bard”.’
— Dame Judi Dench, award-winning stage, film, and television actress

‘This eminently readable book has much to say about the ways in which psychoanalytic interpretation can speak to matters of theatre and the language of the stage. Acting, acting out, and enacting: all are processes that are intensely expressive of ways in which we present ourselves to the world. And the same is true of dramatic characters, and especially Shakespeare’s characters, as they develop and reconcile themselves to themselves. The authors are deeply involved in this process also, and their book contains many thoughtful ideas on numerous matters of literary and psychoanalytical interpretation.’
— David Bevington, Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago and editor of the Longman edition ofThe Complete Works of Shakespeare

‘Just imagine attending a series of Shakespeare’s plays seated next to a psychoanalyst (or, in this case, with an analyst on either side) who, during breaks and intermissions, gives you his or her impression of the varied parts of the performance. This is the treat that is in store for the readers of this book by Dorothy and Jerome Grunes, as they invite us to revisit a number of the most significant of Shakespeare’s plays. It is to the authors’ credit that they take care not to pathologise the leading characters or to reduce these compelling plays to diagnostic categories. They succeed in allowing all sorts of psychoanalytic insights to enrich the efforts of the greatest playwright who ever lived without in any way simplifying his achievements. We should all be grateful for this invitation to occupy a seat at this rare occasion.’
— Arnold Goldberg, MD, author of The Analysis of Failure