Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies

There is no more important author in Western literature than William Shakespeare. And his plays—whether a comedy like A Midsummer Night’s Dream; a history like Henry IV; or a tragedy like Hamlet—are treasure troves of insight into our very humanity. Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories, Tragedies introduces you to Shakespeare’s plays and explains the achievement that makes Shakespeare the leading playwright in Western civilization. The key to that achievement is his “abundance,” says Professor Saccio—not only in the number and length of his plays, but also in the variety of experiences they depict, the multitude of actions and characters they contain, the combination of public and private life they deal with, the richness of feelings they express and can provoke in an audience and in readers, and the fullness of language and suggestion.