On Sympathy - Ratcliffe, Sophie (British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in English at Keble College, Oxford)

Taking Shakespeare as its starting point, this book examines why and how we read poetry, how we relate to fictional characters, and whether reading is good for you. It also focuses on key works by Browning, Auden, and Beckett, who all drew on Shakespeare - and concludes with a critique of contemporary ideas about art, sympathy, and community.