Shakespeare is Hard, but so is Life

Fintan O'Toole is The Irish Times columnist and literary critic, who has taken 4 Shakespearean tragedies,Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, and invited the reader to take on board his critical approaches to the plays. His presentation has clarity and it is a relatively quick read that drew my attention, having closely studied Lear and Macbeth, and seen a number of productions and films on the other two. I think it is likely that if you know the plays well, you will get more out of reading this, although it has to be said when it comes to Shakespeare, there is little that is new under the sun.

This challenges traditional approaches to the plays and posits instead that the central flawed characters reflect the morality and turbulence of Victorian times, illuminating how the prevalence of different opposing perspectives, and the tensions that existed between them drive how the tragic characters were seen, whilst additionally putting far too much weight on their soliloquies. This over simplifies the characters, serving as an impediment to fully grasp and understand the complexities of the tragedies.

No doubt this and the more broader analysis will appeal to those readers interested in Shakespeare, who may or may not be convinced by O'Toole's arguments, but regardless are likely to find this to be an interesting read. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.