Hamlet: Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition, Volume 1 [Hardcover]

Hamletis one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies, studied and performed around the world. This new volume inShakespeare: The Critical Traditionincreases our knowledge of how Shakespeare's plays were received and understood by critics, editors and general readers. It traces the course ofHamletcriticism, from the earliest items of recorded criticism to the latter half of the Victorian period. The focus of the documentary material is from the late 18th century to the late 19th century. Thus the volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play and of the traditions of Shakespearean criticism surrounding it as they have developed from century to century. The introduction constitutes an important chapter of literary history, tracing the entire critical career ofHamletfrom the beginnings to the present day.

The volume features criticism from leading literary figures, such as Henry James, Anna Jameson, Victor Hugo, Thomas Carlyle, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Mary Cowden Clarke. The chronological arrangement of the text-excerpts engages the readers in a direct and unbiased dialogue, whereas the introduction offers a critical evaluation from a current stance, including modern theories and methods. Thus the volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play and of the traditions of Shakespearean criticism surrounding it as they have developed from century to century.

general editor's preface
preface
introduction

1. thomas davies, on Steevens's and Malone's editions and various 18th century theatrical performances, 1784
2. william richardson, a philosophical analysis of Hamlet's character, 1784
3. walter whiter, on Hamlet's melancholic disposition, 1794
4. johann wolfgang von goethe, Hamlet's character as analogue for Wl#2