In this illuminating and highly readable book, Bernard Paris uses certain aspects of Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theories to explain key conflicts in some of Shakespeare's tragic heroes and to gain a broader understanding of Shakespeare himself. Paris believes that Karen Horney's theory is particularly well suited to this type of literary analysis, since it lends itself to a synchronic mode of character analysis. In this type of analysis we use what the author has told us about the current life situation and personality of the character to analyze his character. Other analytic theories require a diachronic mode of analysis, where the present is explained in terms of the past. This often necessitates drawing conclusions about the character's past on the basis of his personality, which is then used in a circular way to explain his personality.