Shakespearean Tragedy

What it is

This is a book of lectures by the scholar A. C. Bradley, first published in 1904 and reprinted in this 1905 second edition, examining Shakespeare's four major tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. It grew out of lectures Bradley gave at universities including Oxford.

Why it matters

Bradley's close reading of the tragic heroes became one of the most widely read works of Shakespeare criticism, shaping how the plays were taught for decades afterward. It shows how later scholars built entire academic careers studying Shakespeare's characters and themes long after his death.

Look closer

• Why do you think these four plays in particular became grouped together as 'the great tragedies'?
• What might a university lecture format add to, or leave out of, a study of a play?
• How might Bradley's own time and training have influenced which parts of the plays he focused on?