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Book Review: Shakespeare’s Political Wisdom3 6 7Timothy W. Burns, Shakespeare’s Political Wisdom. New York: PalgraveMacmillan, 2013, x + 234 pp., $100 (hardcover).Recovering Shakespeare’s Political WisdomR a fa e l M ajorUniversity of North TexasRafael.Major@unt.eduShakespeare’s Political Wisdom, by Professor Timothy Burns, will be awelcome surprise for many of its future readers. Few academics—and consequentlyfew undergraduate students—can resist the temptation to speakabout the possible meaning of Shakespeare’s plays except in terms of externalevidence. Shakespeare’s supposed biography, political events occurring duringeach play’s composition, Renaissance historiography, the authoritativemeaning of certain literary devices, and almost anything else other thanShakespeare’s text are the usual starting points for scholars, and this includesscholars who are desperate to prove that the plays have no “meaning.” Burns’scritical approach is quite different from beginning to end, and the book asa whole is unapologetically aimed at discerning Shakespeare’s view of themost serious issues the human mind can pursue. Some examples: Is all ofnature arbitrary? Does god exist? Is there any basis (even a human basis) forjustice? Can the worst imaginable deeds be called inherently evil, or can anyprudential decision or action rightly be characterized as abhorrent or shameful?These questions are related and seem familiar enough, but Burns takeson the essential task of considering Shakespeare’s view of these questionswithout forgetting that they cannot be addressed without accounting for the© 2015 Interpretation, Inc.