Eight Tragedies of Shakespeare

Victor Kiernan

feb 2016 · Bloomsbury Publishing

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'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 century saw the brief flowering of tragic drama across Western Europe. And in the plays of William Shakespeare, this form of drama found its greatest exponent. These Tragedies, Kiernan argues, represented the artistic expression of a new social and political consciousness which permeated every aspect of life in this period.

In this book, Kiernan sets out to rescue the Tragedies from the reductionist interpretations of mainstream literary criticism, by uncovering the wider historical context which shaped Shakespeare's writings.

Opening with an overview of contemporary England, the development of the theatre, and a portrait of Shakespeare as a writer, Kiernan goes on to provide an in-depth analysis of eight of his Tragedies – from Julius Caesar to Coriolanus – drawing out their contrasts and recurring themes, and exploring their attitudes to monarchy, war, religion, philosophy, and changing relations between men and women. Featuring a new introduction by Terry Eagleton, this is an invaluable resource for those looking for a new perspective on Shakespeare's writings.

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Victor Kiernan (1913-2009) ranks among Britain's most distinguished historians. After a fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge, and a long period spent teaching in India, he joined the History Department at the University of Edinburgh, where he served as professor of modern history from 1970 until his retirement. Over the course of his life he authored such works as European Empires from Conquest to Collapse; The Duel in European History; The Lords of Human Kind and numerous others.

Terry Eagleton is a literary critic, writer and chair in English literature in Lancaster University's department of English and creative writing. He is the author of Shakespeare and Society amongst many other works.