A Preface to Shakespeare's Tragedies

by Michael Mangan

This book is a study of four of Shakespeare's major tragedies - "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear" and "Macbeth". It looks at these plays in a variety of contexts - both in isolation and in relation to each other and to the cultural, ideological, social and political contexts which produced them.

Genres: Criticism

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Kathy]

Half this book is about background - history of the British Isles, Elizabethan and Jacoben theater, Shakespeare's resources and a bit of biography - and the other half is critical analysis of Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear, with comments on Will's other plays as well. It's academic enough but well within the reach of nonprofessionals, although some familiarity with the four plays probably let me enjoy the book more thoroughly.