This book explores a neglected aspect of the history of Hegelian thought: the use and interpretation by Hegel and the Left-Hegelians of Shakespeare's works. By so doing, it provides an alternative perspective on the significance of Shakespeare’s plays.

While much has been written about Hegel's philosophy and its impact on subsequent thinkers, the specific engagement of Hegel and the Left-Hegelians with Shakespeare remains under-explored. This book seeks to fill that gap by examining how Shakespeare's plays have influenced and been interpreted by Hegel himself and by the publications and archival traces of key Left-Hegelian thinkers such as Marx, Lukacs, and Adorno.

Left-Hegelian Reinventions of Shakespeare is essential reading for all scholars and researchers of G.W.F. Hegel and the Left-Hegelians and is also ideal for scholars researching literary aesthetics and the works of William Shakespeare.

Dr Michael Geoffrey Salter is a professor within the School of Humanities' Department of Intercultural Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen.