David Womersley, "Thinking Through Shakespeare" (Princeton UP, 2026)

David Womersley’s new book, *Thinking Through Shakespeare*, argues that Shakespeare’s greatest power lies not in offering answers, but in creating a 'forensic investigation' of the human condition—where competing perspectives are laid bare without resolution. Drawing on his experience living in Munich and observing global productions of Shakespeare, Womersley reveals how audiences worldwide feel an immediate, visceral connection to plays like *Othello*, *Hamlet*, *Macbeth*, and *King Lear*, not because they’re universal, but because they expose the deep tensions in human nature: belonging vs. exclusion, authenticity vs. performance, utilitarianism vs. moral intuition. He shows how Shakespeare’s plays resist final conclusions, instead making enduring problems visible and thinkable. In a world of AI, fake news, and political fragmentation, Womersley sees Shakespeare not as a relic, but as a vital mirror—especially in moments when leaders still invoke legitimacy (like Trump’s 'rigged election' claim) rather than outright power grabs. His work suggests that art’s true role is not to solve problems, but to keep them alive in our consciousness. Womersley’s approach is refreshingly accessible, blending scholarly rigor with a novelist’s eye for narrative tension. He doesn’t reduce Shakespeare to a political or post-colonial symbol, but instead shows how the plays themselves are dynamic, unstable spaces where ideas collide.