ShmoopTube

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Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by Professor A.C. Bradley. He was much cooler

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than his brother, Professor Heating Bradley.

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What distinction does the passage make between Hamlet and Julius Caesar and the other plays

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written in what the passage calls Shakespeare's "tragic period"?

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Okay -- first of all, when we see the word "distinction" we know we're looking

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for a contrast, or difference, between Hamlet and Julius Caesar...

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...and Shakespeare's other "tragic period" plays.

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Hamlet and Caesar might think they're superior...

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But Professor Bradley doesn't claim such a thing in his lecture. According to the Prof,

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this is not what sets them apart.

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Although the passage does ponder whether Shakespeare was going through some tough times...

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...which influenced him to write more tragedies...

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...it doesn't mention any of Shakespeare's plays containing more autobiographical info

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than others.

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Choice (D) is not the answer we're looking for...

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The passage, in fact, says the opposite of choice (C), stating that both Hamlet and Brutus

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are characters that don't succumb to their passions.

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Choice (B) is the way to go. The passage does point out how both Hamlet and Brutus are smart

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guys whose passions don't bring them down.

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