The Oxford Shakespeare The Complete Works

by Shakespeare, William; Wells, Stanley; Taylor, Gary; Jowett, John; Montgomery, William

• ISBN13: 9780199267170
• ISBN10: 0199267170
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-08-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Hailed by The Washington Post as "a definitive synthesis of the best editions" and by The Times of London as "a monument to Shakespearean scholarship," The Oxford Shakespeare is the ultimate anthology of the Bard's work: the most authoritative edition of the plays and poems ever published. Now, almost two decades after the original volume, Oxford is proud to announce a thoroughly updated second edition, including for the first time the texts of The Reign of Edward III and Sir Thomas More, recognizing these two plays officially as authentic works by Shakespeare. This beautiful collection is the product of years of full-time research by a team of British and American scholars and represents the most thorough examination ever undertaken of the nature and authority of Shakespeare's work. The editors reconsidered every detail of the text in the light of modern scholarship and they thoroughly re-examined the earliest printed versions of the plays, firmly establishing the canon and chronological order of composition. All stage directions have been reconsidered in light of original staging, and many new directions for essential action have been added. This superb volume also features a brief introduction to each work as well as an illuminating General Introduction. Finally, the editors have added a wealth of secondary material, including an essay on language, a list of contemporary allusions to Shakespeare, an index of Shakespearean characters, a glossary, a consolidated bibliography, and an index of first lines of the Sonnets. Compiled by the world's leading authorities, packed with information, and attractively designed, The Oxford Shakespeare is the gold standard of Shakespearean anthologies.

Author Biography

Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Birmingham, the Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and Vice-Chairman of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Gary Taylor is Professor in the English Department at the University of Alabama. John Jowett is Associate General Editor of the Oxford Collected Works of Thomas Middleton and co-author of Shakespeare Reshaped 1606-23. William Montgomery works for the Guardian newspaper.

Table of Contents

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTENTS	xi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS	xiii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION	xv
A USER'S GUIDE TO THE COMPLETE WORKS	xliii
THE LANGUAGE OF SHAKESPEARE BY DAVID CRYSTAL	xlv
CONTEMPORARY ALLUSIONS TO SHAKESPEARE	lxv
COMMENDATORY POEMS AND PREFACES	lxix
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1589-91)	1	(24)
The Taming of the Shrew (1590-1)	25	(30)
The First Part of the Contention of the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster (1590-1)	55	(36)
The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York and the Good King Henry the Sixth (1591)	91	(34)
The First Part of Henry the Sixth (1592)	125	(30)
The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus (1592)	155	(28)
The Tragedy of King Richard the Third (1592-3)	183	(40)
Venus and Adonis (1592-3)	223	(14)
The Rape of Lucrece (1593-4)	237	(20)
The Reign of King Edward the Third (1594)	257	(28)
The Comedy of Errors (1594)	285	(22)
Love's Labour's Lost (1594-5)	307	(30)
Love's Labour's Won (1595-6): A Brief Account	337	(2)
The Tragedy of King Richard the Second (1595)	339	(30)
The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1595)	369	(32)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595)	401	(24)
The Life and Death of King John (1596)	425	(28)
The Comical History of the Merchant of Venice, or Otherwise Called the Jew of Venice (1596-7)	453	(28)
The History of Henry the Fourth (1596-7)	481	(30)
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597-8)	511	(26)
The Second Part of Henry the Fourth (1597-8)	537	(32)
Much Ado About Nothing (1598-9)	569	(26)
The Life of Henry the Fifth (1598-9)	595	(32)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (1599)	627	(28)
As You Like It (1599-1600)	655	(26)
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1600-1)	681	(38)
Twelfth Night, or What You Will (1601)	719	(24)
Troilus and Cressida (1602)	743	(34)
Sonnets (1593-1603) and 'A Lover's Complaint' (1603-4)	777	(28)
Various Poems (1593-1616)	805	(8)
The Book of Sir Thomas More (1603-4)	813	(30)
Measure for Measure (1603-4; adapted 1621)	843	(30)
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (1603-4)	873	(36)
The History of King Lear (1605-6): The Quarto Text	909	(34)
The Life of Timon of Athens (1606)	943	(26)
The Tragedy of Macbeth (1606; adapted 1616)	969	(26)
The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra (1606)	995	(36)
All's Well That Ends Well (1606-7)	1031	(28)
Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1607): A Reconstructed Text	1059	(28)
The Tragedy of Coriolanus (1608)	1087	(36)
The Winter's Tale (1609-10)	1123	(30)
The Tragedy of King Lear (1610): The Folio Text	1153	(32)
Cymbeline, King of Britain (1610-11)	1185	(36)
The Tempest (1610-11)	1221	(24)
Cardenio (1612-13): A Brief Account	1245	(2)
All Is True (1613)	1247	(32)
The Two Noble Kinsmen (1613)	1279	(32)
FURTHER READING BY SUSAN BROCK	1311	(16)
SELECT GLOSSARY	1327	(16)
INDEX OF FIRST LINES OF THE SONNETS	1343