Shakespeare's Sources • Montaigne 4

It is well established that Shakespeare was quite familiar with the essays of Montaigne. We will peruse a number of essays that have reflections in the plays.

From the Everyman edition: “Humanist, skeptic, acute observer of himself and others, Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) was the first to use the term “essay” to refer to the form he pioneered, and he has remained one of its most famous practitioners. He reflected on the great themes of existence in his wise and engaging writings, his subjects ranging from proper conversation and good reading, to the raising of children and the endurance of pain, from solitude, destiny, time, and custom, to truth, consciousness, and death. Having stood the test of time, his essays continue to influence writers nearly five hundred years later.”

Join us as we read an essay or three at home, then convene on Zoom to discuss what we read.
If you can get a copy of a Florio translation, then you will be reading the same text that Shakespeare read.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Session Four: Please read Montaigne's essay, “That to philosophize is to learn how to die,” Book 1: Chapter 19 (XIX). It's about 19 pages.
Also read the 4-page essay, called either “Of Age” or perhaps “On the length of life": Book 1: Chapter 57 (LVII).

Here is a pdf of a booklet I created that gathers up a number of Shakespeare's lines on death. We might see some of Montaigne’s thoughts reflected.
. . . . . . . . . . .
When you click to RSVP, there is a small fee that you can pay with either a PayPal account or a credit card. After you rsvp/pay, the link appears on the right.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Some suggested editions:

• Shakespeare's Montaigne (New York Review Books Classics)
  Editors: Stephen Greenblatt and Peter G. Platt.
  This is a curated selection of the specific essays that influenced the Elizabethan era. The editors modernize the spelling while preserving Florio's rhythmic, eccentric prose. It includes an introduction mapping out the exact textual overlaps with Shakespeare's plays. 460 pages (no index!)
• The Essays of Montaigne (Everyman's Library / J.M. Dent)
  If you want all three volumes (the complete unabridged works) rather than a curated selection, look for the vintage or reprinted three-volume Everyman's Library sets featuring Florio's text. They preserve the historic integrity of the translation but include clean layouts and vital contextual footnotes. 1400 pages.
• Free/Digital Option: Renascence Editions (University of Oregon)
  If you want to see the text exactly as Shakespeare would have read Florio's work on a 17th-century printing press, the Luminarium Renascence Editions provide an unmodernized, open-access digital version of the 1603 folio.
• Michel de Montaigne: The Complete Essays, translated by M. A. Screech (Penguin Classics) is a very readable and complete edition. Published in 1993, it is a modern translation. 1300 pages, includes a limited index.

. . . . . . . . . . .
Facilitated by Robin Williams and Jenny Kirby.