One of a series of works aimed at presenting contemporary critical opinion on major authors, this collection includes essays by Alfred Harbage, H. B. Charlton, Willard Farnham, H. T. Price, Donald A. Stauffer, Brents Stirling, Maynard Mack, Helen Gardner, C. S. Lewis, Alvin Kernan, Bernard Spivack, L. C. Knights, Francis Fergusson, G. Wilson Knight, Arthur Sewell, Mark Van Doren, S. L. Bethell, and Harry Levin--all dealing with the biography and literary work of Shakespeare. Designed for use by both literary critics and secondary and college teachers of English, this work would also be of value to undergraduate and graduate students of literature. Essays on Shakespeare's tragedies include "Construction in Titus Andronicus,""The World of Hamlet,""Othello: An Introduction,""Macbeth as the Imitation of an Action," and "Character and Society in King Lear." A chronology of important dates in Shakespeare's life, a brief set of biographical notes on the contributors to this collection, and a 52-item selected bibliography of works on Shakespeare complete the volume. (RB)