Shakespeare's era was abuzz with mathematical progress, from the new concept of "zero" to Galileo's redraft of the heavens. Now, Rob Eastaway uncovers the many surprising ways math shaped Shakespeare's plays-and his world-through astronomy, code-breaking, time-keeping, navigation, music, games, and more.
- How does division feature in Juliet's parting scene?
- Why was it hazardous to play with dice?
- How did audiences get to the Globe on time?
- Which of Galileo's discoveries has a cameo in Cymbeline?
- Were cryptic messages hidden in the First Folio?
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Contents
Prologue
- Shakespearean Numbers
A Playfulness with Numbers
Huge Numbers
Much Ado About Nothing - School Life
Math at Grammar School
The Book of Arithmetic
The Seven Liberal Arts
Girls and Math - Sport and Games
Anyone for Tennis? Or Football?
Hazard and Risk
Nine Men's Morris
Noddy, Primero, and Other Card Games - Money
Shakespearean Currency
Shakespeare the Accountant?
Borrowing, Lending, and Interest - Measure for Measure
An Era of Imprecise Measurements
Length and Distance
Telling the Time
Navigation and Maps - Music, Rhythm, and Dance
The Measure of Dance
Patterns of Verse
Rhyming Patterns
Music as a Mathematical Subject
The Music of the Spheres - Astronomy and Astrology
Telescopes and Horoscopes
Ruled by the Seven Planets
The Science of Astronomy
The New Calendar - Colors and the Rainbow
Rainbows in Shakespeare's World
Shakespeare's Colors
The Emerging Math of Color
Putting Ink to Paper
Writing with a Quill
Writing with Ink
Arrival of the Pencil
Printing and Publishing - Mathematics, Magic, and Witchcraft
John Dee, Mathematician and Magician
The Book of Magic
Think of a Number - Codes and Conspiracy
Secret Messages and Chronograms
Acrostics and Other Hidden Words
Numerology and Codes
Shakespeare's Calculator
Appendix: Mathematical Asides
Tactics for Winning at Three Men's Morris
The Pythagorean Octave and Dorian Mode
Shakespeare, Orange, and Sir Isaac Newton
Philip Henslowe's Diary
Francis Bacon's Cipher System
A Shakespeare/Historic Event Timeline
Timeline of Shakespeare's Plays and Poems
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Picture Credits
Index
