L. C. Knights

Chris Joyce (University of Cambridge)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

Born 15 May 1906
Died 8 Mar 1997
Activity 1933-1997

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Literary Critic/ Historian
Scholar
Teacher/ Professor

Resources

L. C. Knights was one of the most distinguished Shakespeare scholars of the twentieth century and an exemplary literary teacher and critic. His name remains most closely associated with his earliest published essay, How Many Children Had Lady Macbeth? (1933), which challenged the Bradleyan approach to character in Shakespeare. It was and remains – despite Knights’ demurrals – a radical challenge to thinking about the nature of Shakespearean drama. Many other works followed, principally concerning the literature of the Elizabethan age and the earlier seventeenth century. Knights ended his career as King Edward VII Professor of English Literature in the University of Cambridge, after periods at Manchester, Sheffield and Bristol universities. He was one of the founding editors of Scrutiny (the first issue of which appeared on 15th May 1932, his 26th birthday) and he...

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2370 words

Citation: Joyce, Chris. "L. C. Knights". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12312, accessed 09 June 2026.]