The indispensable critic on the indispensable writer. Geoffrey OBrien New York Review of Books A landmark achievement as expansive erudite and passionate as its renowned author this book is the culmination of a lifetime of reading writing about and teaching Shakespeare. Preeminent literary criticand ultimate authority on the western literary tradition Harold Bloom leads us through a comprehensive reading of every one of the dramatists plays brilliantly illuminating each work with unrivaled warmth wit and insight. At the same time Bloom presents one of the boldest theses of Shakespearean scholarships that Shakespeare not only invented the English language but also created human nature as we know it today. show more