"Timon of Athens is one of the most enigmatic and underappreciated of Shakespeare's plays, yet its urgency for our times is not to be understated. Guided by Douglas Lanier's astute and accessible commentary throughout, this edition positions Timon in a range of historical, theoretical, and performance contexts. The superb Introduction and supplementary resources help the reader navigate key issues—ranging from money, friendship, and cynicism to art, ethics, and collaborative authorship—as well as consider contemporary adaptations on stage and screen. This edition will be a welcome resource for teachers and students at both undergraduate and graduate levels." —Jay Zysk, Department of English, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
"Douglas Lanier's Introduction immerses us in the play's daring experiments with genre, its ethical and economic dilemmas, and its emotional and tonal range. He shows how Timon of Athens not only resonates with our troubled cultural moment but also speaks eloquently of its own times. His essay on appreciating the play as a performance script advises us expertly on how to read it as directors do and how to be alert to its radical openness to interpretation." —Stephen M. Buhler, Department of English, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
"An ideal addition to my syllabus; I regularly teach this play owing to my current students' interest in business and management. Also, in my own work, I follow 19th century readers of Timon, most especially Karl Marx who quotes from it at length in his notes in Capital, Volume 1. I applaud the volume editor, Douglas Lanier, for his care in glossing and also for making connections (below the line) to other works by Shakespeare—which makes a good case for considering Timon as being more central to the overall Shakespeare canon than previously assumed (and notwithstanding Middleton's role in this play as well as in, of course, Macbeth). This is a handy and inexpensive edition that my students will enjoy using." —William Engel, Sewanee: The University of the South
All bookworms know the feeling of coming across one of those special passages that give you a whole new perspective on life. It’s no wonder so many people take it to the next level by etching their favorite quotes onto their bodies. But while there are undeniably a lot of classy literary tattoos out there, […]