<Articles>A Study of Medical Allusions in Four of Shakespeare's Tragedies
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概要
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I examined all the words in 20 word areas concerning sickness and medicine in A Shakespeare Thesaurus. I have identified a total of 3,061 words in such word areas. In particular, I focused on the words in the word area, 'medicine・cure, ' which is thought to clarify Shakespeare's medical knowledge. The average number of 'medicine・cure' in the four major tragedies is larger than any other genre. Thus, in this paper I discussed all the words in 'medicine・cure' appearing in the four tragedies. All of the four tragedies are rich in medical references, and we can see some therapies, medicines, medical instruments of Shakespeare's time. Some of them are unique to those days, while others are still used today. One example unique to those days and found in Macbeth is 'Royal Touch, ' which kings of England and France performed for 'scrofulous persons' in the period. Some examples of remedies we still use nowadays are rest, music and herbal therapy, which are found in King Lear and Othello. These medical words are sometimes used paradoxically or symbolically in the context of each play. Some of them are used rather ironically to denote the things which cannot cure people. Shakespeare may infer some of the true nature of medicine through these medical words. The number of words I have discussed is limited, but this study has clarified some characteristics of Shakespeare's medical terms. I hope it will be a fruitful first step toward a complete study of all the medical terms in Shakespeare's works.
- 神戸市看護大学の論文
- 2000-03-31
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