The Modern Scholar

Shakespeare: The Seven Major Tragedies

By: Professor Harold Bloom

Narrated by: Professor Harold Bloom

Shakespeare's seven great tragedies contain unmistakable elements that set them apart from any other plays ever written.

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare embodied in the character of Juliet the world's most impressive representation ever of a woman in love. With Julius Caesar, the great playwright produced a drama of astonishing and perpetual relevance. In Hamlet, Shakespeare created a character with the most brilliant mind in all of literature. And the character of Iago in Othello has been the very archetype of the villain ever since. King Lear presents audiences with unparalleled emotional and intellectual demands. Macbeth is a play of ruthless economy in which Shakespeare forces his audience into intimate sympathy with a man not far from being a mass murderer. Finally, in Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare created something entirely new: a vast political and historical conspectus involving the whole world.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2005 Harold Bloom (P)2005 Recorded Books

Lowest WPM Ever

I, in the late middle ages, have taken up a new appreciation of Shakespeare. He, of course, has influenced Western Thought for centuries. Dr. Bloom is clearly one of the rare Americans who can "bill" themselves as "Shakespearean Expert". I thoroughly loved the material presented BUT he has made the unfortunate decision of narating his own wonderfully insightful book. If you count (who would, but just "if you did get bored") words-per-minute, this product would win the award hands-down. Thankfully, on Dr. Bloom's "History of the Western Canon", he used a reader. A+ on content; C- on presentation.

Bloom always blooming

How magnificent a spirit! What manner, this mind and this man that we have seen appear among us. This is a great investigation into Shakespeare’s most noted work. May he rest in peace and fire the imaginations of new readers of the bard.

The expert

Prof. Bloom is the leading expert on Shakespeare. This lecture series is based on his book "Shakespeare, The Invention of the Human", and gives a deeper insight into the characters that are the icons of Western literature.

Half Lecture, Half Performance

Bloom does a good job summarizing and analyzing Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra. While he doesn't offer anything new or profound, there's enough here to make it a worthwhile listen.

Regarding the narration, Bloom speaks with a New York accent, which is fine, but it feels like half the lectures are him performing passages from the plays. He's actually not bad, but it's obvious he's not classically trained and, frankly, unless one is, I don't want to hear him do Shakespeare.

Romance is Real

Harold Bloom really understood how to evoke passion and inspiration. He's an expert at selling the hot takes. I really enjoyed this.