First published 2019
In 1946, W. H. Auden stood before students at the New School for Social Research to begin an ambitious course on Shakespeare. The celebrated poet and critic proposed to examine all of Shakespeare's plays in chronological order, offering his perspectives on the Bard's complete dramatic works and sonnets. Arthur Kirsch has reconstructed these remarkable lectures from notes and recordings, preserving Auden's unique voice as he guided students through the full sweep of Shakespearean drama. The sessions reveal how one major poet reads another, showing Auden's distinctive approach to literary analysis while illuminating both his own artistic sensibilities and Shakespeare's enduring power. These classroom discussions capture the immediacy of live teaching, where spontaneous insights emerge alongside careful preparation. The book preserves not just Auden's interpretations of individual plays and sonnets, but his broader understanding of Shakespeare's development as an artist and his place in the literary tradition.
Genres: biography, literature, criticism, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: literary-analysis
Period: 1946
423 pages · Kindle Edition · Princeton University Press