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9th out of 135 books
—
57 voters
Shakespearean Tragedy
"A.C. Bradley put Shakespeare on the map for generations of readers and students for whom the plays might not otherwise have become 'real' at all" writes John Bayley in his foreword to this edition of Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth.
Approaching the tragedies as drama, wondering about their characters as he might have wondered about...more
Approaching the tragedies as drama, wondering about their characters as he might have wondered about...more
Paperback, 480 pages
Published
October 1st 1991
by Penguin Books
(first published 1929)
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This is a book that I love, and reread every couple years just for the pleasure of it. It's a group of lectures focusing on Hamlet, Othello, Lear, and Macbeth.. And I'm not a big Shakespeare junkie. I just love the civilized and powerful way that Bradley made the case for his positions, summoning up at will the text of the plays and three centuries of critical interpretation, and making his logical points in language both beautiful and precise. Frankly he could have been writing this way about...more
My former department chair mentioned this study positively, so when I had winter break staring ahead at teaching Macbeth again, for the first time in a few years, I decided this would make a good read. I resisted the temptation just to read the Macbeth section, and was glad I did.
Bradley offers an excellent close reading of the central characters in each of the four tragedies, highlighting critical areas of scholarly debate and illuminating them, always with frequent reference back to the text....more
Bradley offers an excellent close reading of the central characters in each of the four tragedies, highlighting critical areas of scholarly debate and illuminating them, always with frequent reference back to the text....more
Oh. Um, what I said in the little text box under the book when it was...never mind.
Anyway, the fun thing about Shakespeare and reading great Shakespeare critics (Bradley, Harold Bloom--whom I used not to like, and whose title for his essays on the plays I still think is off-track) is that the best plays bring out the best in them, and their insights and analyses are opportunities for you to recognize things you hadn't been aware of, not just about the play or about criticism, but about human li...more
Anyway, the fun thing about Shakespeare and reading great Shakespeare critics (Bradley, Harold Bloom--whom I used not to like, and whose title for his essays on the plays I still think is off-track) is that the best plays bring out the best in them, and their insights and analyses are opportunities for you to recognize things you hadn't been aware of, not just about the play or about criticism, but about human li...more
Nov 28, 2008
C.J. Prince
added it
I haven't actually read this particular version but most of Shakespeare's plays. About 7th grade I went to school in London. We lived in a flat near a Shakespearean Theatre and I saw many plays during that time, remembering "Macbeth" mostly.
Good criticism is perceptive and helps the reader understand the work that is being deconstructed. Written in 1904 this book is still, by far, the best book on reading Shakespeare's great tragedies.
Oh the memories of college days: AC Badlet, Granville Barker, Eleanor Prosser. Bradley was the first Shakespearean critic I read. He must be good because I went on to rread many more.
A necessary accompaniment to Shakespeare's tragedies. Clear, concise, written with conviction. I don't think any of the discussion suffers from being written more than 100 years ago.
Thank you, Victorian Critics, for your possession of now extra-ordinary amounts of sanity, common sense, and erudition. Maybe Harold Bloom is up there too.
It's been a long time, but I remember liking this pretty well. I still have it, so that must mean something. On top of that, I prefer Shakespear's tragedies.
Excellent review of the themes in the best of Shakespeare's plays. The prose is clear and the arguments are persuasive.
Jul 27, 2011
Cecelia
added it
Although I prefer his tragedies I've always disliked Hamlet but this made it marginally tolerable for me
May 15, 2012
Katy
marked it as to-read
Hass says: "The classic Shakespeare critic--all criticism takes off from here."
Dec 06, 2008
Chris
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
shakespeare,
literature-criticism
If you are studying Shakespeare, you should read this.
Great stuff. Worth the investment of time.
Brilliant
The Number 1 reference for Shakesperean tragedies...wonderful essays on the most famous plays!! A must have... for researchers on Shakespeare's plays!!!
As far as modern and post modern approaches to Shakespeare studies, this is where it all began. Love it or hate it, it is fundemental to how we all inherited the Bard
Jun 27, 2008
Greg
added it
When we read Bradley, we find his interpretation of Hegel most amusing. If we could remember a scrap of Hegel in the first place.
Learned a lot from this. Liked that it had distinct sections to deal with each tragedy in lots of detail.
The best book of literary criticism I've read. Clear, concise, and enlightening.
May 23, 2013
Jigar Solanki
is currently reading it
May 21, 2013
Animeparty
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2013
Victoria
marked it as to-read
May 06, 2013
Khurram
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2013
Hannah
is currently reading it
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