released 8/27/2026
In this July 2026 lecture, James Matthew Wilson explores the tragic vision of the world in Shakespeare’s plays, revealing the often-overlooked and somewhat hidden hints of grace and of Christ that point to a more hopeful view of the cosmos. Wilson agrees with critics, such as T. S. Eliot and George Santayana, that the world in Shakespeare’s plays is often portrayed as fallen, disordered, disintegrated, and almost Nietzschean. Yet he insists that the playwright weaves into his work clues that all is not hopeless, that the strange and unexpected appearance of God’s grace is always possible. Wilson takes his audience through a close reading of The Tragedy of King Lear to illustrate his argument.
This lecture is provided courtesy of the CiRCE Institute.
59 minutes
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