Introducing his 1765 edition of the plays, Johnson weighs why Shakespeare has outlasted his age: his characters are species rather than individuals, true to general nature. He defends the mixing of tragedy and comedy, dismisses the unities of time and place, and frankly lists the faults, from loose plots to quibbles. Selected notes on individual plays follow.
Still one of the most balanced and penetrating essays ever written on Shakespeare. Download the free EPUB.