French Reflections in the Shakespearean Tragic

Hillman explores English tragedy in relation to France with a frank concentration on Shakespeare. He sets out to theorise more abstract tragic qualities (such as nostalgia, futility and heroism) with reference to specific French texts and contexts. Three manifestations of the 'Shakespearean tragic' are singled out: Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra and All’s Well That Ends Well, a comedy with melancholic overtones whose French setting is shown to be richly significant. Hillman brings to bear on each