"A most fine figure" : Shakespeare's Mathematical Art

Abstract

This thesis explores the role of mathematical elements in three of Shakespeare's plays: Love's Labour's Lost, The Merchant of Venice, and King Lear. It begins with a discussion of the status of mathematics in Renaissance England, which focuses on mathematics' revaluation in the period. In Chapter Two, mathematics is examined as one of Love's Labour 's Lost' s languages -- a source of businesslike precision, entertainment, and uncertainty. In Chapter Three, The Merchant of Venice's computational environment is analyzed as a prelude to a consideration of the use of mathematical elements for containment purposes. Lear's map, in King Lear, is analyzed in Chapter Four as a mathematical construct and its significance as an emblem of the cruel mathematical reductionism that pervades the play is traced out. By examining the various practical and creative applications of mathematical elements in these three plays, I demonstrate that Shakespeare saw the value and power of mathematics.