This work returns to the 19th century tradition of a moral or ethical criticism in the context of important new thinking in the field of ethics and moral philosophy. “Shakespeare and Moral Agency” presents a collection of new essays by literary and philosophy scholars considering character and action in Shakespeare’s plays as heuristic models for the exploration of some salient problems in the field of moral inquiry. Together they offer a unified presentation of an emerging orientation in Shakespeare studies, drawing on recent work in ethics, philosophy of mind, and analytic aesthetics to construct a powerful framework for the critical analysis of Shakespeare’s works. Contributors suggest new possibilities for the interpretation of Shakespearean drama by engaging with the rich body of contemporary work in the field of moral philosophy, offering significant insights for literary criticism, for pedagogy, and also for theatrical performance. This title is part of major scholarly research monographs in “Shakespeare Studies from Continuum”.