William Shakespeare

In Short

This volume serves as a compact, expert survey of William Shakespeare’s entire dramatic output, poems, and sonnets. It provides brief, analytical sketches of each play, tracing the poet’s maturation from the fantastic and experimental work of his youth to the profound, tragic depths of his later years. By examining the plays through the lens of character, structure, and theme, the book aims to illuminate the "great mind" behind the art. It has endured as an essential introduction because of its ability to synthesize complex literary history into clear, accessible, and insightful commentary.

The Story

The progression of the work follows the chronological arc of Shakespeare’s creative life, beginning with his early, lighter comedies. In these formative pieces, like Love’s Labour’s Lost and The Comedy of Errors, the author highlights a "brilliant young master’s" delight in linguistic artifice and complicated plot structures. Yet, even in these early stages, the critic identifies a tension between the unreal—the fantastic, playful, and sentimental—and the real, growing sense of human passion and moral weight.

As the analysis moves into the history plays, the focus shifts toward the exercise of power and the burden of kingship. The critic examines the "clash between the common and the uncommon man" in Richard II, noting the tragedy of a man who is "too late" in his actions and understanding. In the cycle of Henry VI and Richard III, the narrative deepens into a darker exploration of ambition and the "waste of mind" that occurs when intellect is turned toward ruinous ends. The reader follows the development of the "English scenes," culminating in the vibrant, historical consciousness of Henry V, which the critic suggests did more than any other work to make England "sacred in the imaginations of her sons."

The middle period marks a transition into the "supreme plays," where the scope of Shakespeare’s vision expands. In the tragedies, the critic argues for a shift in perspective: the focus moves from the man of intellect being hounded by those in power to the "man of large and generous nature" being systematically destroyed by "cool, resolute, astute" souls—villains like Iago or the political machinery in Coriolanus. Within the Roman plays, like Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, the analysis emphasizes the "majesty" of the poetry and the "calm, wise" detachment with which Shakespeare views the "state of man."

Finally, the book addresses the later works, including the collaborative pieces like Pericles and King Henry VIII. Here, the critic is candid about the uneven quality of these plays, distinguishing between the "noble" work written by the master and the "patched-up" efforts of his successors. The arc ends not with a simple conclusion, but with a recognition that the "great mind" was always searching for a "just survey of life." The book leaves the reader with a portrait of an artist whose work functions as a mirror, not merely reflecting the world, but interpreting it through a "many-coloured wisdom" that remains "an exultation of the soul over the husks of life."

How It Unfolds

The early experiments The analysis opens with the youth of the poet, focusing on his early comedies where fantastic, "glittering" language clashes with emerging, authentic human emotion. These plays are framed as a clearing of the road, where the poet experiments with the "right use and preparation of intellect."

The histories of power The middle sections examine the political landscapes of the history plays, where intellect is often set against the harsh, often "beastly," requirements of governance. The critic tracks the evolution of the English king and the tragic, often belated, realization of moral accountability in figures like Bolingbroke and Richard II.

The period of supreme tragedy This portion moves into the "great years," where the critic defines the "perfect form" of Shakespearean tragedy. It explores how noble, generous characters are betrayed by domestic treachery and the cold calculations of those who "profit by the soul they help to destroy."

The later collaborations The final beats address the twilight of the career, marked by plays of mixed authorship and varying quality. The critic carefully distinguishes between Shakespeare’s "noble" contributions and the "theatrical invention" of other writers, lamenting the loss of a "great hint of something" that might have been even more fully realized.

The People

At the center of this study is the figure of William Shakespeare himself, treated not as a biographical mystery but as an evolving consciousness. The critic identifies him in the "calm, wise, gentle" characters like Friar Laurence, who speak with a detachment that allows for a "just survey of life."

Opposing these figures are the "cool, resolute, astute" souls—such as Iago, Edmund, and Octavius Caesar—who represent the baser human impulses. These characters are defined by their "tact for the gaining of profit from human frailty" and their ability to exploit the blindness of more noble, trusting people.

Then there are the tragic figures like Richard II, Antony, and Lear, who possess "large and generous" natures. Their destruction is not merely a matter of fate, but the result of a "blindness" or "fatuity" that makes them susceptible to the machinations of those around them. These figures are contrasted with the "vulgar" souls, like the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, to whom a fine soul must turn in moments of crisis, a sight the critic describes as profoundly sad. Finally, the "English" types—the blunt, courageous men of action—are noted for their lack of sentiment, representing a grounded, robust ideal that the poet deeply admired.

In Its Own Voice

Regarding the poet’s early, brilliant artifice:

"The situation is fantastic, the people are fantastic, the language is fantastic with all a brilliant young master's delight in the play and glitter of cunning writing."

On the nature of human error and the tragedy of blindness:

"when we in our viciousness grow hard, O misery on't--the wise gods seel our eyes; In our own filth drop our clear judgments; make us Adore our errors; laugh at's while they strut To our confusion."

Regarding the poet’s commitment to his craft:

"My free drift Halts not particularly, but moves itself In a wide sea of wax: no levell'd malice Infects one comma in the course I hold."

What It's Really About

The book is centrally an argument about the nature of intellect and its relationship to the world. It posits that Shakespeare’s development is marked by a struggle to reconcile the "literary intellect"—the man of books and style—with the "natural intelligence" of human life. The core theme is the "clash" between the noble, generous soul and the calculating, opportunistic individual who thrives on the blindness of others. Ultimately, the book explores the "law" that governs human experience: the idea that wisdom is a "many-coloured" force capable of turning vice into dignity, and that the function of art is to offer an "exultation of the soul" over the inevitable, transitory nature of human existence.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love to delve into the "why" behind a play’s structure will find this an indispensable companion. It is written with a warmth that assumes the reader is already a friend to the material, yet it maintains the precision of a scholar. There is no modern marketing artifice here; the writing is plain, direct, and sometimes quite sharp in its judgments, especially regarding the lesser, collaborative plays.

However, readers should be prepared for the critic’s old-school intensity. He does not shy away from the "terrible" or "horrific" aspects of the plays, and he expects his audience to be equally unflinching when reading lines that might feel "obscure to the many." The text occasionally reflects the early 20th-century preoccupation with identifying "authorship" and "hands" in the work, which might feel pedantic to those just looking for a simple plot summary. But for anyone who finds the sheer scale of the Shakespearean canon daunting, this book provides a steady, guiding light. It stays with you not as a collection of facts, but as a reminder that the "great mind" of the past is still a living, breathing force for anyone willing to look closely at the page.