In his book, originally published in 1981, John Bayley discusses the Roman plays, Troilus and Cressida and Timon of Athens as well as the four major tragedies. He shows how Shakespeare's most successful tragic effects hinge on an opposition between the discourses of character and form, role and context.

Introductory. 1. The King's Ship 2. The Natures of Death 3. The Big Idea Timon of Athens 4. Longing and Homesickness Troilus and Cressida 5. Determined Things the Case of the Caesars 6. The Thing I Am Coriolanus 7. Tragedy and Consciousness. Annotated Bibliography.