Shakespeare’s Ophelia in English Literature Magazine: from Romantic Ideal to Victorian One (Analysis of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine)

Section: History of Journalism

The author investigates the problem of interpretation and redesigning the character of Shakespearean Ophelia in British XIX century literary periodicals comparing this to the ‘mainstream’ literary criticism. Taking the phase dominated by Romantic criticism, which sees the proliferation of new reviews and magazines, as a start, it then continues by reviewing transformations in comprehending Ophelia’s character through the Victorian period.