"Hamlet", "Troilus and Cressida", "All's Well That Ends Well" and "Measure for Measure" - these are all described by the author as Shakespeare's "problem" plays. In each of them, the author argues, Shakespeare is deeply interested in speculative thought and in the observance of human nature for their own sake; and each is concerned with men on the edge of manhood and of the harsh experiences which forced them to grow up.