This vintage book contains a fascinating treatise on the comic characters of Shakespeare's plays. With textual analysis and an exploration of the concept of comedy, this is a volume that will appeal to fans of Shakespeare's work and one that will be of considerable utility to students of literature. Contents include: "William Shakespeare", "Introduction", "Touchstone", "Shylock", "Bottom", "Beatrice and Benedick", "Love's Labour's Lost", "As You Like It", "The Merchant of Venice", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and "Much Ado About Nothing". Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of Shakespeare. This book was first published in 1956.