David Lowenthal is D'Alzon Professor of Political Science at Assumption College.

• 1. Shakespeare and the Critics2. The Tempest3. King Lear4. Julius Caesar5. The Merchant of Venice6. Macbeth7. Measure for Measure8. A Midsummer Night’s Dream 9. Romeo and Juliet10. Henry V11. Hamlet12. As You Like It13. The Greatness of Coriolanu14. Betrayals for Love in Antony and Cleopatra

Lowenthal deftly shows that Shakespeare, more a poet and dramatist than philosopher, was deeply interested in some fundamental issues of moral and political life, in such a way that his astonishing achievements in plot, character, and poetic utterance can best be understood as emanating from the particular issue or issues that each play explores. Like Harold Goddard, Lowenthal is not afraid to talk about 'meaning'; like Harold Bloom, he offers a countervailing argument to trends in current theoretical criticism.