Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThere may never be an absolutely definitive collection of Shakespeare’s plays, but this may be as close as we ever come. Clear, user-friendly and meticulous, this is the edition we all need. * David Tennant *
All of humanity in all of its complexity is contained within these plays, so much so that it’s hard to imagine that Shakespeare will ever be surpassed as the world’s greatest and most beloved playwright. It’s therefore fitting to have this edition that displays his continuing relevance and resonances to his ongoing audience. * David Oyelowo *
This is a glorious edition of one of the world’s most important books. It’s the essential reference book for anyone who’s ever been in love, felt jealousy, fear, hatred or desire. All human life is here – and every home should have one. * Dame Judi Dench, in praise of the first edition *
Timely, original, and beautifully conceived, the RSC edition makes Shakespeare’s extraordinary accomplishment more vivid than ever. * James Shapiro, Professor, Columbia University, in praise of the first edition *
Table of ContentsPreface to Shakespeare: A Second Edition, Jonathan Bate The First Folio after 400 years The ‘Second Folio’ of the RSC Shakespeare
General Introduction, Jonathan Bate Shakespeare our Perennial Contemporary Shakespeare’s Debut: The ‘Upstart Crow’ The Back Story: Shakespeare of Stratford The Playhouses Plague and Poetry The Lord Chamberlain’s Man The Ensemble at Work Dangerous Matter: Politics and Religion The King’s Man Cult and Heresy The Great Feast of Languages The First Folio Restored
User’s Guide Preliminary pages of the First Folio Foreword, Greg Doran, Artistic Director Emeritus, Royal Shakespeare Company PLATES
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: COMPLETE WORKS with Introductions and Key Facts, Jonathan Bate
COMEDIES The Tempest The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Merry Wives of Windsor Measure for Measure The Comedy of Errors Much Ado about Nothing Love’s Labour’s Lost A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Merchant of Venice As You Like It The Taming of the Shrew All’s Well that Ends Well Twelfth Night, or What You Will The Winter’s Tale HISTORIES The Life and Death of King John The Life and Death of King Richard the Second The First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death of Henry surnamed Hotspur The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, containing his Death and the Coronation of King Henry the Fifth The Life of Henry the Fifth The First Part of Henry the Sixth The Second Part of Henry the Sixth, with the Death of the Good Duke Humphrey The Third Part of Henry the Sixth, with the Death of the Duke of York The Tragedy of Richard the Third, with the Landing of Earl Richmond and the Battle at Bosworth Field The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth TRAGEDIES The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida The Tragedy of Coriolanus The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet The Life of Timon of Athens The Tragedy of Julius Caesar The Tragedy of Macbeth The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark The Tragedy of King Lear The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra The Tragedy of Cymbeline PLAYS NOT IN THE FIRST FOLIO Pericles, Prince of Tyre, William Shakespeare and George Wilkins
The Two Noble Kinsmen, William Shakespeare and John Fletcher
POEMS AND SONNETS Venus and Adonis The Rape of Lucrece The Passionate Pilgrim ‘To the Queen’ ‘Let the Bird of Loudest Lay’ (also known as ‘The Phoenix and Turtle’) Shakespeare’s Sonnets ‘A Lover’s Complaint’
A Scene for Sir Thomas More (introduction, transcription and modernized text by Eric Rasmussen)
CHARTS Shakespeare’s Works: A Conjectural Chronology The Houses of Lancaster and York: A Genealogy Kings and Queens of England: From the History Plays to Shakespeare’s Lifetime The History behind the Histories: A Chronology The History behind the Tragedies: A Chronology
