A landmark in Shakespeare studies, this version of The Complete Oxford Shakespeare is the first critical edition of the complete works in the original spelling and punctuation. It is based on the most thorough examination ever undertaken of the nature and authority of the earliest manuscripts, representing eight years of work by a team of British and American scholars. The works are arranged in conjectural order of composition based on the new research, and where the opportunity for choice existed, the spelling and punctuation of the text closest to Shakespeare's own manuscript has been chosen. With this Original Spelling Edition scholars and general readers have for the first time--
· The uncensored text of Henry IV and the original titles of three other plays
· Edited texts of King Lear both as Shakespeare originally wrote it and as it was revised for performance years later
Additional features include--
· Major textual alternatives--first versions and deleted lines--are printed as additional passages
· Stage directions have been reconsidered in light of the play's original staging and many directions have been added
· Conjectural stage directions and speech prefixes are identified in brackets
· A general introduction, brief introductions to each work, and an essay on the language of Shakespeare's time are provided
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Inside Flap:
Definitive, comprehensive, and handsome edition presents every one of Shakespeare's great plays-the Comedies, Tragedies and Histories-plus his poems and, of course, the Sonnets. All in one beautifully illustrated volume. B&W illustrations throughout. 1248 pages.
About the Author:
About the Editors:
Stanley Wells is Professor of Shakespeare Studies and Director of the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham. Gary Taylor is Professor of English Literature at Brandeis University. John Jowett is Lecturer in English at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Bill Montgomery is a Shakespeare scholar.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.