Shakespeare’s position in Levinas’s Philosophy

Emmanuel Levinas, the lesser known twentieth century philosopher, had been influenced by art in his philosophizing before he proposed his new ideas in 1961. Not only was he influenced by art, but paradoxically by literature and a number of great literary figures. Thinkers like Dostoevsky, Gogol, Cervantes and other universally-acclaimed figures, consciously or unconsciously, had their hands in his philosophy and he himself pointed to this fact in an interview with Philippe Nemo. But Shakespeare is the one to whom he alluded with specificity. Especially at the outset of his philosophical career from 1947 to 1961, he referred to Shakespeare and his Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet in such a way as if they serve as a direct impact on his philosophical thoughts. Thus, the inspiration he receives from literature seems to be worthy of a further study and analysis. Therefore, this article aims at studying the impact of literature and especially Shakespeare on Levinas. After a brief introduction, the study considers Levinas’s allusions to Shakespeare in various parts of his oeuvre, with an emphasis on Time and the Other. Through such a dialogue, Shakespeare’s position for Levinas will be discussed and his significance for him will be exposed.