And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain to tell my story. - William Shakespeare

This book is intended for the reader and theater-goer who loves Shakespeare's plays and enjoys contemplating them in their complexity: the richness of metaphorical language, the characters' psychological depths and dimensions, the philosophical implications of the plays as organic dramatic entities that testify to the nature of human limitation and human freedom. I assume that the reader has the patience to delight in the minute details of Shakespeare's patterns of imagery as well as to admire the overall structure of the plays. What most interests me is how these plays cohere and how they can be read from different perspectives which nevertheless complement each other. Thus, I have not adopted any single critical approach, but have responded to each play's individual identity with what seem to me appropriate and fruitful interpretative points of view. Blessed in having been enfranchised by my profession to teach Shakespeare for half a century, I wish to share with my readers the humane vision I find everywhere in Shakespeare's incomparable plays - a vision empathetic to human suffering and moral aspiration, tempered by his acute awareness of human frailty, which has immeasurably enriched my own life. - Author's Note to the Reader