Copyright © 2025 by Sarah Beckwith

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 2025 by Cornell University Press

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Beckwith, Sarah, 1959– author.

Title: Shakespeare and loss : the late, great tragedies / Sarah Beckwith.

Description: Ithaca [New York] : Cornell University Press, 2025. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2025009251 (print) | LCCN 2025009252 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501784484 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781501784491 (paperback) | ISBN 9781501784507 (pdf) | ISBN 9781501784514 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Shakespeare, William, 1564–1616—Tragedies. | Loss (Psychology) in literature.

Classification: LCC PR2983 .B43 2025 (print) | LCC PR2983 (ebook) | DDC 822.3/3—dc23/eng/20250614

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025009251

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025009252

Cover image: Rose-Lynn Fisher, Grief and gratitude, 2008. From The Topography of Tears, © Rose-Lynn Fisher. Courtesy of Bellevue Literary Press, 2017.