Though taking due account of the historical and philosophical dimensions of the poem, Robin Kirkpatrick focuses on Dante as a poet and story-teller. He addresses important questions such as Dante's attitude towards Virgil, and demonstrates how an early work such as the Vita nuova is a principal source of the literary achievement of the Comedy. His detailed reading reveals how the great narrative poem explores the relationship that Dante believed to...

"In this useful guide, Paul Cantor provides a structured introduction to Shakespeare's most famous tragedy. Cantor examines Hamlet's status as tragic hero and the central enigma of his delayed revenge in light of the play's Renaissance context. He offers students a discussion of the dramatic and poetic techniques used in the play. In the final chapter he deals with the varied reception of Hamlet on the stage and in literature generally from the seventeenth...