What makes Shakespeare's late plays so special? Through detailed analyses of key passages, Kate Aughterson shows how these plays portray a world of political intrigue, familial chaos and crisis, which teeters continually into tragedy: a world we can recognise today.

Part I of this engaging study:
- Provides stimulating close readings of extracts from The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Cymbeline and Pericles
- Examines major topics such as openings, endings, familial roles, stage properties, spectacle and song
- Offers suggestions for further work and summarizes the methods of analysis

Part II supplies essential background material, including:
- Detailed accounts of Shakespeare's literary and historical contexts
- Samples from important critical works and performances

With a helpful Further Reading section, this illuminating volume is ideal for anyone who wishes to appreciate and explore Shakespeare's late plays for themselves.

Kate Aughterson is Principal Lecturer and Academic Programme Leader for English Literature at the University of Brighton, UK. She is the author of Webster: The Tragedies and Aphra Behn: The Comedies, both also in the Analysing Texts series.
Kate Aughterson is Principal Lecturer and Academic Programme Leader for English Literature at the University of Brighton, UK. She is the author of Webster: The Tragedies and Aphra Behn: The Comedies, both also in the Analysing Texts series.