Dr. Margreta De Grazia

Biography

Margreta de Grazia is the Sheli Z. Burton X. Rosenberg Professor Emerita in the Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her PhD in English from Princeton, specializing in Renaissance literature. Her influential book, 'Shakespeare Verbatim' (Oxford, 1991), traces the emergence of Shakespeare as a modern author, highlighting the editorial imperatives of the late eighteenth century. Another notable work, 'Hamlet Hamlet' (Cambridge, 2007), which received the Phyllis Goodhart Gordan Book Prize and the Elizabeth Dietz Award, illustrates how the modern tradition of psychologizing Hamlet has obscured the play's protagonist's preoccupation with land entitlement. De Grazia's recent publication, 'Four Shakespearean Period Pieces' (Chicago, 2021), calls for a reevaluation of key concepts such as chronology and periodization in situating Shakespeare within history. Her forthcoming book, 'Shakespeare Life' (Oxford, 2022), investigates the impact of biography on the study of Shakespeare. She has co-edited significant works such as 'Subject Object Renaissance Culture' (Cambridge, 1996) and the 'Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare' (2010). De Grazia's research interests include Shakespeare as a historical cultural phenomenon, early modern notions of subjectivity and authorship, as well as the ownership and production of early modern texts. Throughout her career, she has received fellowships from various prestigious institutions and awards for distinguished teaching and mentoring.

Research Interests

Courses