During the three hundred years since his death Shakespeare has not merely retained his hold upon the English stage, but has also penetrated globally. No other writer can claim the position he occupies. When confronted with the enormous array of critics, it can be difficult to reach a reasoned judgement on Shakespeare's works.

Routledge Library Editions: Shakespeare (Critical Studies) provides 38 volumes of some of the best critical writing on Shakespeare published in the twentieth century (but also includes much earlier pieces, some from the seventeenth century). The authors represented here include: John Baxter, M C Bradbrook, Anthony Brennan, Wolgang Clemen, Uma Ellis-Fermor, Benjamin Ifor Evans, Reginald Foakes, Terence Hawkes, T R Henn, Frank Kermode, Maynard Mack, Kenneth Muir, Allardyce Nicoll, Brian Vickers and Stanley Wells.