'This book rests on a lifetime's thinking about history. It helps us see Shakespeare in “a more realistic light”.' Times Literary Supplement The seventeenth

Victor Kiernan provides a rich and insightful analysis of eight of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, revealing how they were shaped by the social and political

Presenting the complete texts of eight of the world’s greatest plays, this important volume illuminates the changing concept of tragedy from Sophocles to O’

Individual chapters deal with cultural materialism, new historicism, poststructuralism, and feminist criticism. The theoretical basis of each critical mode is e

Most of Shakespeare’s tragedies have a family drama at their heart. This book brings these relationships to life, offering a radical new perspective on the tr