THE LEGACY OF CLASSICAL COSMOLOGY IN THE RENAISSANCE: SHAKESPEARE AND ASTRONOMY

Abstract

Athens was the focus for the development of three philosophies of astronomy – Platonism, Aristotelianism and Stoicism, which were to dominate the classical world up to the fifth century. All three were vital components of Renaissance European culture, combining notions of purpose, order and an ensouled cosmos in which all things were interdependent, including people and planets. This consensus was dramatically challenged by the publication of Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius in 1610 which did much to destroyed the physical model of nested spheres on which classical cosmology rested. Teleology, order and ensoulment survived but in an impoverished form and largely excluded from the new scientific, observational astronomy. This paper will examine the use of astronomy by William Shakespeare, the greatest writer in the English language, the majority of whose plays were written prior to 1610, and will explore how key passages and themes in his work relate back to classical Athenian astronomical theory, particularly its relation to fate. It will argue that, through his dramatic narratives, Shakespeare was the last great exponent of classical astronomical theory before the Galilean revolution.