In universities and elsewhere, might we study Shakespeare to learn about wisdom and how to grow wiser? I say yes, though in the language of one of Shakespeare’s greatest fools:
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, with windlasses and with assays of bias By indirections find directions out.1
Wisdom for Shakespeare has far more to do with the heart than the head. Though it is prudent to be canny and not gullible, and it is astute to be alert to the dangerous ways of the world (the flesh, and the devil), what is still more essential is a true and faithful heart, radiant with love, care, and devotion, brimming with compassion and forgiveness. Those among Shakespeare’s characters who are most bright, clever and cunning (such as Bolingbroke,
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, with windlasses and with assays of bias By indirections find directions out.1
Wisdom for Shakespeare has far more to do with the heart than the head. Though it is prudent to be canny and not gullible, and it is astute to be alert to the dangerous ways of the world (the flesh, and the devil), what is still more essential is a true and faithful heart, radiant with love, care, and devotion, brimming with compassion and forgiveness. Those among Shakespeare’s characters who are most bright, clever and cunning (such as Bolingbroke,