Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human

Name: Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human
Author: Harold Bloom

by Harold Bloom

Extended meditation on Shakespeare's unprecedented invention of human character

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About the author

Harold Bloom

American literary critic whose The Anxiety of Influence proposed that poets struggle against their predecessors in a competitive, Oedipal relationship. The Western Canon controversially argued for the primacy of aesthetic excellence. He was the most prominent and controversial defender of the literary canon in the culture wars.

More by Harold Bloom

The Anxiety of InfluenceTheory that poets achieve greatness by creatively responding to precursor poets
The Western CanonArgues Western literature rests on canonical works by Shakespeare, Dante and Homer
How to Read and WhyGuide to appreciating literature and why certain books repay deep reading
GeniusEssays examining creativity, originality and the nature of genius across disciplines