„Oneself as Another“ and „Narrative Identity“ in Shakespeare and Montaigne
„Oneself as Another“ and „Narrative Identity“ in Shakespeare and Montaigne

Summary/Abstract: Philosophical insights of several Renaissance thinkers have recognizable resonances in Shakespeare’s works. The echoes of Florentine Neo-Platonism, Erasmus and Machiavelli have been written about, but can hardly be traced by direct textual references. On the other hand, Montaigne’s presence in Shakespeare’s text is a different case. It can be proved that Shakespeare read Montaigne, not only by the assumption of his likely acquaintance with John Florio, the Elizabethan translator of Montaigne, but because of the obvious textual parallels in the works of the two Renaissance authors. This article, firstly, presents a short survey of the comparative investigation of Shakespeare and Montaigne. Secondly, it brings into focus the problems of selfhood and self-understanding, identity and time in Shakespeare and Montaigne, as analyzed by Robert Ellrodt and Hugh Grady. Finally, it introduces a possibility of a new approach to Montaigne’s and Shakespeare’s representations of selfhood and subjectivity by pointing to the hermeneutical potential of Paul Ricoeur’s concepts “oneself as another” and “narrative identity” as developed in his studies Time and Narrative 3 (Temps et Récit 3, 1985) and Oneself as Another (Soi-même comme un autre, 1990).

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