A. C. Bradley and his influence in twentieth century Shakespearian criticism

Abstract

This thesis sets out to discuss the criticism of A.C.Bradley (1851-1935) paying especial attention to twentieth century interpretations of his work; which, it appears, bear more relation to the needs of twentieth century than to the actual dicta of A.C.Bradley. As twentieth century attitudes are not uniform the introduction shows some of the contradictory elements in the modern picture of Bradley. Chapter 2 summarises Bradley's life and surveys some of his non-literary writings as a corrective to twentieth century impressions. Chapter 3 sets out his critical principles so that the main part of the thesis which follows may be based on some more factual foundation than twentieth century opinion. Chapters, and 6 examine in some detail the origins and developments of certain pictures of Bradley, the blinkered Victorian, the dry academic theorist and most famously the seeker of 'characters'. These pictures it emerges are not as true to Bradley as the twentieth century would like to believe, mainly because the success of Bradley's work made reaction necessary in order for there to be proper progress. To balance this general picture of Bradley there follows an enquiry into the ways in which his influence in particular judgments has percolated through later criticism, the example of the ending of King Lear is followed through (in precise detail) to illustrate this. A history of criticism of Bradley (as opposed to mere references to Bradley in Shakespeare criticism) follows this attempt to place the developments traced in the foregoing chapters against a chronological framework, a simplification not possible in the more complex workings of Shakespeare criticism. In conclusion a brief attempt is made to assess Bradley's qualities as a critic which have made him such an influential critic.