Characters of Shakespear's Plays is an 1817 book of criticism of Shakespeare's plays, written by early nineteenth century English essayist and literary critic William Hazlitt. Composed in reaction to the neoclassical approach to Shakespeare's plays typified by Samuel Johnson, it was among the first English-language studies of Shakespeare's plays to follow the manner of German critic August Wilhelm Schlegel, and, with the work of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, paved the way for the increased appreciation of Shakespeare's genius that was characteristic of later nineteenth-century criticism. It was also the first book to cover all of Shakespeare's plays, intended as a guide for the general reader. CONTENTS: Cymbeline -- Macbeth -- Julius Caesar -- Othello -- Timon of Athens -- Coriolanus -- Troilus and Cressida -- Antony and Cleopatra -- Hamlet -- The tempest -- The midsummer night's dream -- Romeo and Juliet -- Lear -- Richard II -- Henry IV in two parts -- Henry V -- Henry VI in three parts -- Richard III -- Henry VIII -- King John -- Twelfth night; or, What you will -- The two gentlemen of Verona -- The merchant of Venice -- The winter's tale -- All's well that ends well -- Love's labour's lost -- Much ado about nothing -- As you like it -- The taming of the shrew -- Measure for measure -- The merry wives of Windsor -- The comedy of errors -- Doubtful plays of Shakespeare -- Poems and sonnets.