Аннотация:Taking the point of departure in the world of
Shakespeare and his players, it is argued that
illusion has nothing to do with deception or
delusion. Rather it is seen as a suspense of
form, a waiting for the fulfilment of the plot.
This view is extended to the social world in
general, where an illusion of wholeness and
plot is also a precondition for action: without
a sense of context, no one can act adequately.
Players of Shakespeare are double agents, in
that they have to act as both actor and
character; again, it is argued that human
agency is always a kind of double agency,
requiring an awareness of both one’s own
practical skills and the entire social drama in
which one participates. In short, both on and
off stage, acting in character means abiding
to an over-all illusion about a whole that is
but suspended form.
