The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works / Edition 2

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

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199267170
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/01/2005
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	1424
Sales rank:	167,610
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 7.20(h) x 2.10(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)

About the Author

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.

Date of Death:

2018

Place of Birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Place of Death:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Table of Contents

IntroductionContemporary Allusions to ShakespeareCommendatory Poems and Prefaces (1599-1640)1. The Two Gentlemen of Verona2. The Taming of the Shrew3. The First Part of the Contention of the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster (2 Henry VI)4. The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York and the Good King Henry the Sixth (3 Henry VI)5. The First Part of Henry the Sixth6. The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus7. The Tragedy of King Richard the Third8. Venus and Adonis9. The Rape of Lucrece10. The Reign of King Edward the Third11. The Comedy of Errors12. Love's Labour's Lost13. Love's Labour's Won: A Brief Account14. The Tragedy of King Richard the Second15. The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet16. A Midsummer Night's Dream17. The Life and Death of King John18. The Comical History of The Merchant of Venice, or Otherwise Called the Jew of Venice19. The History of Henry the Fourth (1 Henry IV)20. The Merry Wives of Windsor21. The Second Part of Henry the Fourth (2 Henry IV)22. Much Ado About Nothing23. The Life of Henry the Fifth24. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar25. As You Like It26. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark27. Twelfth Night, or What You Will28. Troilus and Cressida29. Sonnets and 'A Lover's Complaint'30. Various Poems31. Sir Thomas More32. Measure for Measure33. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice34. The Life of Timon of Athens35. The History of King Lear: The Quarto Text36. The Tragedy of Macbeth37. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra38. All's Well That Ends Well39. Pericles, Prince of Tyre: A Reconstructed Text40. The Tragedy of Coriolanus41. The Winter's Tale42. The Tragedy of King Lear: The Folio Text43. Cymbeline, King of Britain44. The Tempest45. Cardenio: A Brief Account46. All Is True (Henry VIII)47. The Two Noble KinsmenSelect Glossary

Editorial Reviews

"State-of-the-art scholarship...has come to stand as the edition of record of Shakespeare's poems and plays."—San Diego Union-Tribune

"Includes stage directions, introductions, and a trove of other scholarly goodies. A beauty."—Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

01/01/2014
The editors draw largely from the earliest printed versions of the plays in an effort to produce an edition that is as close as possible to the originals as they would have appeared in the theater and include updated stage directions. With introductory essays, summaries of each play, and a glossary. (LJ 7/05)

Library Journal