Philip Walter Edwards (1923-2015) was an influential British literary critic and scholar, best known for his work on English Renaissance drama, particularly on William Shakespeare. His academic career saw him hold prestigious chairs, including the King Alfred Professor of English Literature at the University of Liverpool and previously at Trinity College Dublin. His most significant works include the critical editions of "Hamlet" and "Pericles" for The New Cambridge Shakespeare series, and seminal monographs such as "Shakespeare and the Confines of Art" (1968) and "Threshold of a Nation: A Study in English and Irish Drama" (1979). His rigorous approach and profound erudition redefined the understanding of numerous Elizabethan and Jacobean texts. For his outstanding contribution to the humanities, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1985, confirming his status as one of the foremost experts on early modern literature.