Characters of Shakespeare's Plays

Although Shakespeare criticism has altered direction and progressed far since Hazlitt's "Characters of Shakespeare's Plays" came out in 1817, the book has outstayed changes of literary fashion and continues to be read while many learned and more ambitious studies have passed out of circulation. Since Hazlitt was one of the best of all the English dramatic critics, he considered the plays and characters with the eye and mind of an enthusiast for the stage, treating Shakespeare's work as that of a man of the theatre, rather than as material for formal study. Moreover, Hazlitt's sense of style and his other gifts as an essayist has given these "Characters" a permanent place among the lesser English classics. -- From publisher's description