World Famous Comics: The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works
The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works
By: William Shakespeare Publisher: Arden Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Arden Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 1347 Publication Date: July 05, 2001
Product Description: The Complete Arden Shakespeare , published for the first time in hardback in 1998, is now available in an updated paperback edition. The Complete Arden Shakespeare contains the texts of all Shakespeare's plays, edited by leading Shakespeare scholars for the renowned Arden Shakespeare series. The paperback edition includes eight newly revised playtexts as published in the Arden Third Series since 1998. A general introduction by the three General Editors of the ongoing Arden Shakespeare series gives the reader an overall view of how and why Shakespeare has become such an influential cultural icon, and how perceptions of his work have changed in the intervening four centuries. The introduction summarises the known facts about the dramatist's life, his reading and use of sources, and the nature of theatrical performance during his lifetime. Brief introductions to each play, written specially for this volume by the Arden General Editors, discuss the date and contemporary context of the play, its position within Shakespeare's oeuvre, and its subsequent performance history. An extensive glossary explains vocabulary which may be unfamiliar to modern readers. ¨ The sound, reliable, critical edition of Shakespeare's work available for the first time in paperback. ¨ Updated and revised to include akk if the ediitions currently available in the Arden Third Series. ¨ Includes The Two Noble Kinsmen, the Poems, and the Sonnets ¨ General introduction by the arden General Editors ¨ Brief contextual introductions to each play ¨ Glossary with about 400 entries
Big, bold, and great for Shakespeare enthusiasts Instead of writing a regular review, I figured I'd rate this large book on a scale of 1-10 (ten being good) in several areas to give you idea of what you'd get.
As a book: 8 The font is great, the words are not scrunched together to save space, which gives it its rather large girth, but if I had to choose between reading at leisure or squinting and using a finger to stay on the right line, I'd choose the first.
Compilation: 6 It does have everything, and yes, it's in alphabetical order which may irritate some, but when you're a 10th grader looking for Julius Caesar, which would you rather find it quickly via your ABCs or have to find the index to see when it was written?
Age Appropriate: 7 Easy to follow if you're learning Shakespeare, based on the idea that the teacher is actually teaching you what the text means. It may not be the best first book if you're learning Shakespeare on your own, as it doesn't have an easy reference, but again, it's spacious text allows for easier reading.
Reference: 5 This is not the best reference book- in all honesty if you want to read Shakespeare indepth you'd be better off getting each play individually or a small collection of a plays with all the info.
Pairing: 10 Personally I'd rather pair this book with a reference book than have the text jumbled up with footnotes and on-page references (which tend to be squished together ala the King James Bible). You want facts? Pair this book with something like DK's Essential Shakespeare by Leslie Dunton-Downer.
Enthusiasts: 9 Usually Shakespeare enthusiasts like myself have every play in their own book, but this is a great Complete Works to add to the collection. If you don't need much help reading the texts, it's perfect.
Overall Rating: 8 As an actor, I can't live without this book. It's great for quickly finding monologues, and, well, it just looks cool and modern. If I need more details, I have a multitude of lectures and gathered knowledge to reference so having this book is a nice clean cut way of studying Shakespeare.
The Complete Works of Shakespeare The product was exactly what it said it was - all of the plays of Shakespeare, in alphabetical order. There is a glossary in the back as well as an index. It was in very good condition.
Not for Teaching I have taught several Shakespeare classes with several different texts. In the interest of my student's pocket-books I chose this complete works. The lack of editorial notes makes it unusable in class. I am also surprised by the decision to alphabetize the plays rather than arrange by date of composition (or presumed date of composition.)This is a sturdy volume, for a paperback, which is a mark in its favor, but the Riverside will be my edition of choice in all future classes.
For the price... Well, if you're looking for an affordable collection of Shakespeare's works (plays and sonnets) to read, then this is definitely the book for you! If you're looking to intensely study Shakespeare and get as many footnotes and literary interpretations as possible, this is NOT the one for you. However, this collection's paper quality is all right, the words are actually readable, and you will find some introductory essays as well as a glossary of terms at the back. The glorified cardstock cover is prone to easy damage (even in the mail getting to me, as I discovered), though it is nicely colored.
A bargain! Quite a bargain for $20, and lightweight compared to other Complete Works that are out there. It doesn't contain the detailed footnotes and endnotes of the individual Arden editions, but is extremely useful as a reference or a way of reading through all of Shakespeare's works.
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