G. Wilson Knight's The Wheel of Fire: Interpretations of Shakespearian Tragedy - a Note
G. Wilson Knight's The Wheel of Fire, first published in 1930, is a landmark book of Shakespearean criticism. Its title, taken from a line in King Lear where the king describes his agony, captures the book's focus on the intense suffering and potential for purification within Shakespeare's tragedies. The book was highly influential and included a supportive introduction from the famous poet T.S. Eliot, who praised Knight's innovative approach. The most important part of the book is Knight's unique method of "interpretation." He argued that critics traditionally analyze plays temporally, meaning they follow the plot from start to finish and focus on character psychology, asking why a character like Hamlet hesitates. Knight believed this was limiting. He championed a spatial analysis, which involves looking at the play all at once, like a single painting. This method focuses on the play's overall atmosphere, its recurring symbols, and its thematic patter...