Shakespeare and the Classical Tradition

This comprehensive bibliography offers essential coverage of English-language scholarship examining Shakespeare's engagement with classical sources from 1961 through 1985, including both published commentary and doctoral dissertations. The work provides detailed summaries of each entry, with particularly thorough annotation for plays and poems directly based on classical sources like Antony and Cleopatra and The Rape of Lucrece. For other Shakespearean works, the bibliography maintains selective but representative coverage of significant scholarly contributions during this pivotal quarter-century of Shakespeare studies.

What distinguishes this reference work is its systematic approach to documenting how Renaissance humanism and classical learning shaped Shakespeare's creative process across his dramatic and poetic output. The clear, substantive annotations make this an indispensable research tool for graduate students embarking on serious Shakespeare scholarship and established scholars tracking the evolution of classical influence studies. By consolidating this crucial period of academic discourse, the bibliography creates an authoritative foundation for understanding how twentieth-century scholarship interpreted Shakespeare's complex relationship with antiquity.