Shakespearean Tragedy by A.C. Bradley was first published in 1904 and has been reprinted several times since then. It encompasses Bradley’s lectures on Shakespearean criticism as a professor at Oxford University from 1901 up to the time of publication of the book. The book is praised as among the greatest works on Shakespearean tragedies for its character-driven approach in its analysis. It provides a coherent and psychoanalytical examination of Shakespeare’s characters that preceded the basis of Freudian criticism.
Focused mainly on characters, Bradley delves into the psyche of the tragic figures - namely Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. He observes that the tragedies are characterized by an internal flaw in the hero that renders them powerless to their fate. Therefore their tragic fall is expected and inescapable because of their action or inaction. Bradley views the tragic heroes as real characters to be psychologically studied hence revealing Shakespeare’s outlook on human nature. He incorporates the sensibilities of his contemporary society into the tragedies to interpret them as real-life dramas.
Though revered for its influence in psychoanalytic criticism, the work has also been criticized for irrelevancies in certain presumptions. Nonetheless, it offers a deeper comprehension of Shakespearean tragedies and the essential nature of their tragic heroes. Accordingly, it is a major contribution to 20th-century Shakespearean criticism that utilized advanced scholarship to interpret the classic tragedies.
