The Book Prize Index

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human

Harold Bloom

"Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human is an analysis of the central work of the Western canon, and of the playwright who not only invented the English language, but also, as Bloom argues, created human nature as we know it today. Before Shakespeare there was characterization; after Shakespeare, there were characters, men and women capable of change, with highly individual personalities." "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human is a companion to Shakespeare's work, and just as much an inquiry into what it means to be human. It explains why Shakespeare has remained our most popular and universal dramatist for more than four centuries, and in helping us to better understand ourselves through Shakespeare, it restores the role of the literary critic to one of central importance in our culture."--BOOK JACKET.

Arts & CriticismArts & Criticism · high confidenceArts & Criticism81 signalsLlm Classifier: Arts & Criticism -> Arts & CriticismOpen Library: Shakespeare, william, 1564-1616, appreciation -> BiographyOpen Library: Shakespeare, william, 1564-1616, characters -> BiographyIntellectual BiographyIntellectual History & Ideas

Award History

0 wins · 1 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
National Book Award for NonfictionMajor1998FinalistSecondary source
View all award history (1)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • Shakespeare55%

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

    This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.

    The book argues that Shakespeare not only invented aspects of the English language but also, as Bloom argues, created human nature as we know it today.

    Model confidence 45%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    45 / 100 academic

    Trade / academic crossover

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 50%.