The title might sound off-putting, but that’s not its intention. O’Toole has taken issue with the simplistic nature of the analysis of Shakespeare, and his tragedies in particular, with literary criticism since the Victorian era so reductive in nature that famous plays can be described using just one or two words. O’Toole argues that these 19th century critics’ reliance on Aristotelian conventions and of the ‘tragic flaw’ has cheapened and demeaned Shakespeare’s genius.
Aristotle argued that, in a tragedy, a protagonist’s demise is predicated on she/he having a tragic flaw that is obvious from the play’s beginning, and that this character fault will always ensure their downfall. Readers will already be familiar with Hamlet’s ‘indecision’, Othello’s ‘jealousy’, King Lear’s ‘reckless vanity’, and Macbeth’s ‘ambition’. O’Toole gives numerous examples in each play where the protagonist not only doesn’t display these traits, but often exhibits their reverse. This reductive reasoning also diminishes the agency of secondary characters (especially Lady Macbeth), whose own flaws may outweigh those of each eponymous character.
Historical relativism notes that the times in which Shakespeare was writing each play were eras of great flux, with changes from feudal to capitalistic economies, and from superstitious to scientific thinking. This duality is reflected in both time and character. For the writing of King Lear, it was common to talk of ‘end times’, and that play’s sensibility mirrors that of Revelations’ fever-dream.
Like life, Shakespearean plays can be complex and challenging. Their characters can be contradictory – just as our own lives are. This is not easy reading, but it’s a necessary reminder that Shakespeare’s greatness should not be reduced to a pithy bon mot.
Reviewed by Bob Moore
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fintan O’Toole is an Irish journalist, literary editor, and drama critic for The Irish Times, for which he has written since 1988. O’Toole was drama critic for the New York Daily News from 1997 to 2001 and is Advising Editor and a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books.
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