Staging doubt : skepticism in early modern European drama Frontmatter Acknowledgments Contents Introduction 1. Skepticism in the Philosophical Tradition 2. On Skepticism in Shakespeares Hamlet 3. Aspects of Skepticism in Calderóns La vida es sueño 4. Aspects of Skepticism in the Genesius Plays by Lope de Vega and Jean de Rotrou 5. Cervantes Entremés del Retablo de las maravillas Conclusions References This volume considers the influential revival of ancient philosophical skepticism in the 16th and early 17th centuries and investigates from a comparative perspective its reception in early modern English Spanish and French drama dedicating detailed readings to plays by Shakespeare Calderón Lope de Vega Rotrou Desfontaines and Cervantes. While all the plays employ similar dramatic devices for putting skepticism on stage the study explores how these dramas however give different answers to the challenges posed by skepticism in relation to their respective historico cultural and ideological contexts