The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: The Cambridge Edition Text, including the Temple Notes

Excellent format and good notes

You will thoroughly enjoy this all-in-one beautiful volume which is meant to delight not study.Almost two decades after the original "The Oxford Shakespeare:The Complete Works", this second edition is a much improved version compiled by world's leading authorities.It comes with updated helpful and handy information which includes an essay on the language of Shakespeare, a User's Guide and suggested further readings plus an illuminating General Introduction and a brief introduction to each work, an index of Shakespearean characters, a glossary, a consolidated bibliography, index of first lines of the Sonnets and much more. The two plays "The Reign of Edward III "and "Sir Thomas More" which are officially recognised as authentic works by Shakespeare are also included in the volume for the first time. Highly recommended for home and library.

Greetings from Australia! This volume of Shakespeare's Complete Works is a MUST HAVE addition to the home library.The general introduction is excellent, providing a historical background to the culture of the times.A section on the language of Shakespeare is well detailed, covering the usage and conventions of the period.Each play has a good introduction which sets out the work in the context.The quality of the production of the book is excellent. The font could be slightly larger-[for older eyes} yet the text is quite readable.An Excellent coffee table volume or one to be featured in pride of place on the bookshelf.This volume should be a required reference for all English Teachers.Martin HorriganWarrnambool, Victoria Australia

I fell for the Oxford edition and like the speaker of the Sonnets relative to the Dark Lady, I was blind to its defects too long.I bought two copies in 2005 when I was "rich" owing to the financial boom: the paperback for my teaching to be used in class, and the hardbound for my home study. I could see how relatively flimsy they are, for Oxford has long compensated for the flimsiness of its books with the prestige of its name, and the genuine scholarship it's put into editing. Oxford offered successively higher priced editions of its standards at the turn of the last century, from a flimsy blue buckram with India (very thin) paper to higher-priced editions in "Moroccan" leather, sporting gold leaf and more durable paper.Sure enough, the paperback King Lear disintegrated after being repeatedly copied and passed around, but not so much that I wasn't able to rescue the text of each play and staple it into a separate, handy little "Quarto" suitable for copying under "fair use" for students, and as an actor's prompt book.But while the hardbound endured at my home, I am now re-reading all of Shakespeare having read his complete works in 1962 as a lad of 12. I have Stage IV/D1 prostate cancer and the opportunity to live in a hospice style facility awaiting results from chemotherapy, and re-read Shakespeare in the light of modern scholarship, notably, the two versions of Lear (1608 in Quarto, 1623 in the Folio).This has exposed the relative and understandable flimsiness of the hardbound. It was made to be taken from the shelf and read at the desk. It can survive a Churchill chuckling and dozing over Falstaff and Timon of Athens in an easy chair with a cigar and whisky soda.But in a hospital room while I have my lunch is problematic for the book is being deformed past the limits set by its binders as it is distended in my bed, and I find that even small drops of food can remove the print from the opposite page when the pages are separated (I have no data as to the sticking-together action of another substance called "baby batter" but I imagine it isn't good.)Another problem is what I consider the "vanity", or perhaps self-filfilling, admission of a new play, Edward III, which may include passages by Shakespeare, but in which S, perhaps burned out at the time of Edward III on "history" plays, and not noted in what we know as exceptionally willing to put his nose to the grindstone, simply did not take an interest in the architecture of this history play.All the other history plays except for in part King John, Richard II and All Is True (Henry VIII), that is, the "core" plays from Henry IV Part 1 to Richard III, are layered pictures of England in the 15th century. In the "Henrician trilogy" S cannot resist all sorts of clever scenes, such as the Cade rebellion, Pucelle's nonsense, and Talbot v Mad Duchess and Crazed Dwarf.This is under better control in Richard III but only because the main character was an unusually dastardly person and therefore, given audience's eternal fascination with dastardly individuals, Richard can fill out the play in a way the non-dastardly Edward II could not. When Edward III goes at the Countess of Salisbury with wicked intent, the audience cheers him on, for wicked intent is theatrical, allowing the audience vicarious Thrills. But when Edward III stands down, wishing to be a virtuous ruler, we approve of this while stifling a yawn.This is just a mediaeval miniature snookered from Froissart. I fear that even at the zenith of their profession there was pressure - whether internal or external I don't know, to "discover" Edward III as a "Shakespeare" play even though it has lain, like Poe's Purloined Letter, in plain view for many years.Missing, or pressured out of Wells and Taylor in academic science worship of atomic facts, and a concomitant over-rating of details. A "Shakespeare" play "must" contain the diversity of incident and depth of characterization we associate with Shakespeare otherwise it "must" by critical consensus anyway, be relegated with the numerous times we know Shakespeare was a "script doctor", always ready to help stuck authors with a script.Edward III is archtecturally tight as a drum but its chivalric military ethic is unrelieved by Shakespeare's questioning, thru Hotspur's psychotic exaggeration of the chivalric ideal (plucking bright honor out of the sea by her locks, etc.) thru its very absurdity and the effect it has on his wife. Or, for that matter, by Falstaff's speech on "Honour", Shakespeare's and Falstaff's obvious disgust with Prince John's dishonorable if bloodless victory in Henry IV Part 2. It's also hard to believe that Shakespeare's colleagues, or, the Master of the Revels, would have been able to "gag" Shakespeare on the issues raised in the canonical History plays given the success of his plays and the fact that questioning the chivalric ideal was no big deal, as far as we know, and that it was a frequent source of comedy, culminating, probably, in the "lost" play Cardenio.The fault of treating Edward III as canonical, however, is redeemed elsewhere, for following modern practice found in the Norton edition, Wells and Taylor include two version of King Lear, The History of King Lear and his History.Two polished versions of Lear exist. One came out in Quarto form in 1608 and featured a bit more excitement than the very different Folio version. The Quarto version features very interesting development of the character Albany until it is he, and not Edgar, who emerges as the natural leader of the end of the play, delivering the last and solemn lines:The weight of this sad time we must obey;Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.The oldest hath borne most: we that are youngShall never see so much, nor live so long.The Quarto version has also a more interesting revolt of Cornwall's servants and some Elizabethan tips on what to do for a gouged eye. Its scenes of reconciliation between Lear and Cordelia are a little more elaborate and plangent and were used in the definitive BBC version of Lear on video tape (and DVD now).But both are rewarding in their own way and both should be read to say "I have read King Lear".I am compelled to award this book a "four" because of its physical flimsiness as a paperback and the Edward III "canonization".

I have not seen the Kindle edition that many of the reviewers here disapprove of, but the hardback edition is first-rate. The paper quality is good (not onionskin), the text font is easily legible, the characters' names are fully spelled out each time they are used (no "Ham." for "Hamlet" or "Per." for "Pericles"), the feel of the book is substantial. And the price is excellent. If you are looking for a complete works of Shakespeare that you can delight in and lose yourself in, this is the one to add to your basket--durable, legible, well made, and one of the crown jewels of stage and life.

I have loved Shakespeare since high school. My teacher had a passion for his works and it rubbed off on more than one of her students in the classes that she taught. After I graduated college and was on my own I purchased a complete collection and read all of works. The printing in the two volume collection was extremely small but it didn't stop me. Over the years the books were placed in storage and, unfortunately, destroyed due to a leak in the roof. I was thrilled when I was able to replace it with this set. Now I can re-read his works and adjust the size of the print so that my much older eyes don't have to squint to enjoy the words of the master.

This book is such amazing quality! The print on it isn’t perfect but it’s more than good enough to read clearly. The cover feels great! Feels like a fancy expensive book but it’s only $20. All I can say is get it!!!! You will not regret!!! On top of that, you’ll fall in love with the art of literature through the works of the wonderful William Shakespeare!

Very good paper quality, it's very thin, but hard to damage : ) The font is pretty small, but good enough for 'healthy eyes'. The only thing, indeed, is the weight... No chance that one could take this to class or something, but it's good to have one at home, instead of 20-30 books. Also, good for students, if there is a need to compare some questionable online versions of the plays to see if there are mistakes - that's what I did in our Shakespeare course...PDF in class, book at home..

Muito bom.

Todo bien. Fue un regalo para mi chico y le gustó mucho. El repartidor me llamó, porque no estaba en casa y pudo dejar el paquete a una vecina.

belastbares Studienmaterial

The hardcover, Oxford Shakespeare edition of his complete works is excellent. Well-researched and documented, complete, has line numbers, and the pages are thick enough that they don't tear when you read. Texts like this can be quite expensive, so the $40ish price tag is a good value.It looks like you get a different edition of the book if you choose the paperback or Kindle editions, produced by different editors and publishers. When I previewed them, they appeared to be incomplete collections or poorly edited ones. So my recommendation applies only to the HARDCOVER Oxford Shakespeare.Also: my dog is strangely attracted to this book. If I leave it on the floor or couch--anywhere she can reach, really--she sniffs it out and uses it as a pillow, refusing to give it back. It must smell good? If you're on the fence about buying it, consider whether you want to attract sleepy dogs for naps, I guess.

Cet ouvrage rassemble tous les écrits du plus grand des auteurs dramaturges en langue anglaise.La qualité de la couverture est bonne (simili cuir) et papier bible.La prise en mains est assez aisée (malgré le volume conséquent), l'impression est bonne. Seul bémol, comme le papier est fin on devine un peu l'impression du verso par transparence.Le texte d'origine est respecté. Ouvrage en ANGLAIS.