Shakespeare and the Dialectic

Shakespeare's style of writing is the most conducive to creating a dialectic that I think I've found. This stems from the complexity of his plays, and their power in drawing people into them.

Shakespeare has broad appeal, and he was so intelligent that he wrote characters that people would identify with because of the kind of people that they are. For example, Richard II is an idealist in Shakespeare's play (by the same name). His opponent, Henry Bolingbroke, is not. He is a pragmatist. Now, when I read Richard I thought, "This guy is so smart!" but people that I've been dialoguing with have the opposite reaction. "Richard is insane!"

If I try to convince someone that Richard is not insane, that will have to be done in a conversation, because there is no other way to effectively change their stirred intuitions. In fact, if I were to really want to convince them to believe me, I'd have to convince them that there is a deeper reality than we can see on the surface, and we'd start talking metaphysics. Shakespeare's text has created a dialect-pregnant situation.

I really appreciate the genius of a man who is able to do this, and, though I have never been taught this aspect of Shakespeare before, I think it may be his greatest accomplishment.