Critical Perspectives on Shakespeare

AO5 requires you to "explore literary texts informed by different interpretations." This does not mean simply listing critics or bolting on references to named scholars. It means using critical perspectives as analytical tools — ways of opening up meaning in the text, generating alternative readings, and deepening your own argument. This lesson surveys the major critical approaches relevant to the set plays, providing you with the theoretical vocabulary and specific references that will strengthen your Paper 1 responses.

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Character Criticism (A.C. Bradley and the Tradition)

The Approach

Character criticism treats Shakespeare's characters as if they were real people with consistent psychologies. It asks: what motivates this character? What kind of person are they? How do they change?

A.C. Bradley (1851–1935) is the most influential character critic. His Shakespearean Tragedy (1904) set the terms for critical debate about Shakespeare for a century. Bradley's key claims about the set plays: