You can apply any interpretative key to Shakespeare, and you will see that the works will illuminate your interpretation – not the other way around. Although professional critics insist that the aesthetic stance itself constitutes another “ideology,” I disagree, focusing in this book exclusively on the aesthetic aspect of Shakespeare…

Harold Bloom, insightful and critical, offers his reading audience detailed analyses of all Shakespearean works, composing a landmark book for the study of English and world Theater, as well as Literature in general. Countless objections and discussions arise from his views and conclusions; however, that is how fruitful dialogue is, as ancient Greek inductive Thought has taught us. The classical yet multifaceted perspective of the American critic, imbued with Nietzschean tones and spirit, as well as the rich tradition of modern English idealism, guides us step by step, through Hamlets, Iagos, and Falstaffs, Cleopatras, Rosalinds, and Juliets, through A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest, Henrys and Richards, into the wondrous worlds of Shakespeare, seeking the essence of his creation.

Contents

Bibliography-Abbreviations
Publishing Information
Editor's Introduction
Acknowledgments
Timeline
To the Reader
The Universality of Shakespeare

I. THE EARLY TRAGEDIES
1. The Comedy of Errors
2. The Taming of the Shrew
3. The Two Gentlemen of Verona

II. THE EARLY HISTORICAL DRAMAS
4. Henry VI
5. King John
6. Richard III

III. THE TRAGEDIES OF APPRENTICESHIP
7. Titus Andronicus
8. Romeo and Juliet
9. Julius Caesar

IV. THE GREAT COMEDIES
10. Love's Labour's Lost
11. A Midsummer Night's Dream
12. The Merchant of Venice
13. Much Ado About Nothing
14. As You Like It
15. Twelfth Night

V. THE MAJOR HISTORICAL DRAMAS
16. Richard II
17. Henry IV
18. The Merry Wives of Windsor
19. Henry V

VI. THE “UNSORTED” WORKS
20. Troilus and Cressida
21. All's Well That Ends Well
22. Measure for Measure

VII. THE GREAT TRAGEDIES
23. Hamlet
24. Othello
25. King Lear
26. Macbeth
27. Antony and Cleopatra

VIII. TRAGIC EPILOGUE
28. Coriolanus
29. Timon of Athens

IX. THE LATER ROMANCES
30. Pericles
31. Cymbeline
32. The Winter's Tale
33. The Tempest
34. Henry VIII
35. The Two Noble Kinsmen

Conclusion: The Shakespearean Contribution
Postscript: On Self-Existence-Self-Sufficiency