Paul A. Cantor (October 25, 1945 – February 25, 2022) was an American literary and media critic. He taught for many years at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where he was the Clifton Waller Barrett Professor of English. He also served on the National Council for the Humanities from 1992 to 1999.

Early life and education

Cantor was born in New York City on October 25, 1945. His family was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

. As a young man he was an avid reader with interests in science, philosophy, and literature. He has given an account of his early years in his intellectual autobiography. While still in high school, Cantor attended

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; ; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American political economist and philosopher of the Austrian school. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the social contributions of classical l ...

' economics seminars in New York City. He went on to study English literature at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

(A.B., 1966, Ph.D., 1971), where he studied literature with Larry Benson, Hershel Baker, and

Walter Jackson Bate Walter Jackson Bate (May 23, 1918 – July 26, 1999) was an American literary critic and biographer. He is known for Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography-winning biographies of Samuel Johnson (1978) and John Keats (1964).

and politics with

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Critical focal points

Cantor wrote on a wide range of subjects, including

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

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Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his no ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

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William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

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Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

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, New Historicism,

Austrian economics The Austrian school is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivations and actions of individuals along with thei ...

, postcolonial literature, contemporary popular culture, and relations between culture and commerce.

Shakespeare criticism

Cantor published extensively on Shakespeare. In ''Shakespeare's Rome: Republic and Empire'' (1974), a revision of his doctoral thesis, he analyzed Shakespeare's Roman plays and contrasted the austere, republican mentality of ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

'' with the bibulous and erotic energies of ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published ...

''. He returned to the Roman plays in ''Shakespeare's Roman Trilogy: The Twilight of the Ancient World'' (2017). In ''Shakespeare: Hamlet'' (1989), he depicted Hamlet as a man torn between pagan and Christian conceptions of heroism. In his articles on ''Macbeth'', he analyzed "the Scottish play" using the same polarity. Cantor also published articles on several other Shakespeare plays, including ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'', ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'', ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

'', ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'', ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', ''

Timon of Athens ''The Life of Tymon of Athens'', often shortened to ''Timon of Athens'', is a play written by William Shakespeare and likely also Thomas Middleton in about 1606. It was published in the ''First Folio'' in 1623. Timon of Athens (person), Timon ...

'', and ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

''. A characteristic feature of Cantor's scholarship is his focus on various political regimes and their depiction in Shakespeare's plays. Cantor notes that different regimes promote different ideas about human beings, the good, and government. He compares and contrasts the early Roman regime as depicted in ''Coriolanus'' and the later Roman regime as depicted in ''Antony and Cleopatra'', pagan values and Christian values, republican regimes and monarchical regimes. Several sets of Cantor's lectures on Shakespeare are available on the internet (see below).

Romanticism

Cantor's second book, ''Creature and Creator: Myth-Making and English Romanticism'' (1984), included discussions of Rousseau, Blake, Byron, and the Shelleys.

Popular culture and media criticism

Cantor was perhaps best known in his later years for his writings on popular culture. He published three books in this field. In ''Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization'' (2003), he used literary and critical methods to analyze four popular American television shows: ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'', ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', and ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

''. Nine years later he followed this book up with another book on movies and television'', The Invisible Hand in Popular Culture: Liberty vs. Authority in American Film and TV'' (2012). His third and final book on popular culture was ''Pop Culture and the Dark Side of the American Dream: Con Men, Gangsters, Drug Lords, and Zombies'' (2019). Cantor also published many articles on films and television shows, most of which are listed on his webpage at the University of Virginia and o
his CV
A 2004 article in ''Americana'' described Cantor as "a preeminent scholar in the field of American popular culture studies."

Austrian economics

Cantor combined his interests in literature and culture with an interest in Austrian Economics. ''Literature and the Economics of Liberty: Spontaneous Order in Culture'' (2010), a collection of essays Cantor edited with Stephen Cox, explored ways of using Austrian economics to understand works of literature. Cantor presented his work at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and in 1992 he received the Ludwig von Mises Prize for Scholarship in Austrian Economics.

Books

* ''Shakespeare's Rome: Republic and Empire.'' Cornell University Press, 1976. Reprinted with a new preface, University of Chicago Press (paperback), 2017. * ''Creature and Creator: Myth-making and English Romanticism.'' Cambridge University Press, 1984. * ''Shakespeare: Hamlet.'' Cambridge University Press, 1989. Second edition (revised), 2004 * ''Macbeth und die Evangelisierung von Schottland.'' Siemens Foundation, 1993. Translated into Korean and published by Editus Publishing Company, 2018. * ''Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization.'' Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. * ''Literature and the Economics of Liberty: Spontaneous Order in Culture.'' Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2009. Co-edited with Stephen Cox. * ''The Invisible Hand in Popular Culture: Liberty vs. Authority in American Film and TV''. University Press of Kentucky, 2012. * ''Shakespeare’s Roman Trilogy: The Twilight of the Ancient World.'' University of Chicago Press, 2017. * ''Pop Culture and the Dark Side of the American Dream: Con Men, Gangsters, Drug Lords, and Zombies.'' University Press of Kentucky, 2019.

Death

Cantor had a stroke in mid-February 2022. He died on February 25, 2022, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 76.

References

External links

; Webpages: * Paul Cantor'
faculty profile
on the University of Virginia English Department website, with some bibliography. * Paul Canto
website
created and curated by a former student; contains writings, lecture notes, links.
A Brief Intellectual Autobiography
of Paul Cantor
Complete CV
of Paul Cantor * Cantor's articles a
reason.com
* Cantor's texts a
mises.org
; Video lectures by Cantor: * A series of ten audio/video lectures by Cantor o
Commerce and Culture
at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama (2006). * A series of twenty-five video lectures by Cantor o
the theme of Shakespeare and Politics
recorded in the government department of Harvard University (2013). Course consists of an introductory lecture followed by three lectures on each of the following plays ''Coriolanus'', ''Julius Caesar'', ''Antony and Cleopatra'', ''Henry V'', ''Merchant of Venice'', ''Hamlet'', ''Othello'', and Macbeth. * A series of thirty video lectures on Shakespeare an
The Politics of Genre
Course consists of a brief introductory lecture, followed by lectures on ''Richard II''; ''Henry IV, Part 1''; ''Henry IV, Part II''; ''Henry V''; ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''As You Like It'', ''Twelfth Night'', and ''King Lear''. * A series of 10 video talks o
Shakespeare's Rome
Course includes lectures on ''Coriolanus'', ''Julius Caesar'', and ''Antony and Cleopatra.'' ; Individual lectures and talks by Cantor:
Economics and Literature: A Tribute and Celebration
(2010 Austrian Scholars Conference)
The Invisible Hand in Popular Culture
(C-Span, August 2013)
What Literature Can Teach Economics
(Property and Freedom Society, September 2013)
The Apocalyptic Strain in Popular Culture
(Program on Constitutional Government at Harvard, June 9, 2015)
Shakespeare, Rome, and The American Republic
(a lecture at the Menard Family George Washington Forum, October 2017)
William Shakespeare and the Roots of Western Civilization
(a lecture delivered at Texas Tech University, May 29, 2018)
The Poet, the Philosopher, and the Politician in Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''
(a lecture at Roosevelt University April 4, 2019)
Much Ado About Money: Shakespeare as Entrepreneur
(a lecture delivered at Baylor University October 20, 2020)
Paul Cantor on Henry V
(a lecture hosted by Yeshiva University's Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought, Fall 2020)
Paul Cantor on Zombies, Pop Culture, and the CDC
(Arizona State University, May 2020)
Shakespeare's Anatomy of Love: ''Much Ado About Nothing''
(Zoom webinar at South Texas College, April 6, 2021) ;Cantor interviews on conversations with Bill Kristol:
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(September 2014): Cantor on Shakespeare and politics (Part 1)
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(October 2015): Cantor on popular culture.
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(August 2016): Cantor on literature and liberty
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(September 2017): Cantor on Shakespeare's Rome
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(June 2018): Cantor on Shakespeare and politics (Part II)
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(October 2018): Cantor on great television and the emergence of a TV canon
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(April 2019): Cantor on The Godfather, Breaking Bad, Huckleberry Finn, and the American Dream
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(November 2019): Cantor on the Shakespeare authorship question
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(March 2020): Cantor on Hollywood westerns
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(August 2020): Cantor on the crisis in higher education and online learning
Conversations with Bill Kristol
(June 2021): Cantor on Shakespeare and comedy. ; Other interviews (video and print):
Institute Encounters
Steve Balch interviews Cantor at Texas Tech University (June 2018)
Austrian economic and culture: An interview with Paul Cantor
(2001) * Conversation wit

(2005)
The Economics of Literature
(Interview on Reason TV, October 8, 2010) ; Online publications: * Cantor's articl
"This Is Not Your Father's FBI"
(On the X-Files) (2001) * Cantor's articl

(2006) * Cantor's review articl
"Economic and Cultural Globalization"
(2007) * Cantor's book, co-edited with Stephen Cox
''Literature and the Economics of Liberty: Spontaneous Order in Culture''
(2009). * An hour-lon
audio-presentation
of the above book (2010) by Paul A. Cantor * Cantor's essay o
"The Apocalyptic Strain in Popular Culture"
(2013) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantor, Paul 1945 births 2022 deaths American literary critics Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Mises Institute people University of Virginia faculty Writers from New York City Jewish American non-fiction writers