Shakespeare's tragedies are among the greatest works of tragic art and have attracted a rich range of commentary and interpretation from leading creative and critical minds. This Reader's Guide offers a comprehensive survey of the key criticism on the tragedies, from the 17th century through to the present day.In this book, Nicolas Tredell:- Introduces essential concepts, themes and debates.- Relates Shakespeare's tragedies to fi elds of study including psychoanalysis, gender, race, ecology and philosophy.- Summarises major critical texts from Dryden and Dr Johnson to Janet Adelman and Julia Reinhard Lupton, and covers influential critical movements such as New Criticism, New Historicism and poststructuralism.- Demonstrates how key critical approaches work in practice, with close reference to Shakespeare's texts.Informed and incisive, this is an indispensable guide for anyone interested in how the category of Shakespeare's tragedies has been constructed, contested and changed over the years.

Acknowledgements Notes on the Text Introduction 1. The Augustans 2. The Romantics 3. The Victorians 4. Character and Correlative 5. Psychoanalysis and Desire 6. Imagery and Form 7. Archetype and Absurdity 8. History and Subjectivity 9. Gender and Sexuality 10. Ethnicity and Ecology 11. Philosophy and Ethics 12. Religions and Reformations Conclusion Notes Select Bibliography Index.