Shakespeare's Scholars: Three Lessons from the Liberal Arts

What Love's Labor's Lost, Hamlet, and The Tempest can teach us about discovery, growth, and change

Shakespeare was a keen and discerning reader who was mocked by writers who, unlike him, had been to university--so it's not surprising that his portrait of scholarly life is critical. As Sean Keilen shows in this engaging book, Shakespeare's scholars lack humility, shun wisdom, underestimate people who are not scholars, and, by keeping aloof from society, fail to see themselves clearly. In examining Shakespeare's scholars, Keilen finds parallels in the modern academy.

Keilen examines three plays with scholars as protagonists, tracing these characters' arduous paths to self-knowledge and meaningful connection with others. In Love's Labor's Lost, four noblemen, seeking fame for knowledge and virtue, establish an academy--but the real purpose of their studies is to exclude women, scorn men of inferior standing, and treat each other with hostility. In Hamlet, the prodigiously intelligent Prince of Denmark retreats to the solitude of his own thoughts, with unfortunate results. And in The Tempest, Prospero abandons his duty to others for the rapture of secret studies, a choice that leads him to seek the false consolation of self-protective bitterness. In each play, Keilen finds important lessons about humility, wisdom, and self-knowledge. Inspired by these, he argues for a new approach to teaching literature--one that views literary education not as an esoteric discipline but as the renewal of an intellectual heritage all readers hold in common.

Author: Sean Keilen
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 05/12/2026
Pages: 184
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.50w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780691272634


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2026

About the Author
Sean Keilen is professor of literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he also directs Shakespeare Workshop, a research center that promotes Shakespeare scholarship, community engagement, and theatrical performance. He is author of Vulgar Eloquence: On the Renaissance Invention of English Literature and the coeditor of Shakespeare: The Critical Complex and The Routledge Research Companion to Shakespeare and Classical Literature. He is also head of dramaturgy at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, a longstanding professional theater company.