Abstract: Shakespeare composed his works in a particular moment of historical time, where we find all walks of people in different situations, but they were not written to endorse any particular historical era, social class, interest group or ideology. As “the soul of all time”(Ben Jonson), Shakespeare is interested in presenting universal human nature in specific space-time—so it is with his political “ history plays” and Roman plays. To regard his works as a dramatic mouthpiece, a literary endorsement or a secular theodicy is a serious misunderstanding of, even a blasphemy against, Shakespeare's importance. Literature is(and should be) comprehensive, sure enough, as it's always been. Also, it is not a mere “House Beautiful” or secret garden, but an established tradition that has its own right and property. Studying literature without paying sufficient attention to literature per se—language, text, interpretative tradition etc.—may get lost in the maze of “ intellectual history” and, as we have seen too many times in our history, lead to the dangerous complicity with and abuse of discourse-power.