Four Great Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Twelfth Night; The Tempest (Signet Classics) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

The four plays selected for this collection--The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest--represent a significant stage in the development of the world's greatest dramatist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics; Revised edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451527313
• ISBN-13: 978-0451527318
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Shakespeare, William
  • #74 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Playwrights, A-Z > ( S )
  • #85 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > British > Shakespeare

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I like this book., May 1, 2001

By 

moongirl (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Great Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Twelfth Night; The Tempest (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

It's a good book. It has an easy-to-read layout with round and readable type faces. Unlike many other Shakespeare books, it shows the names of characters in full without abbreviations so that you don't have to memorize the abbreviations or keep on guessing who's speaking at a given time. It also has nice space between each character's speech so that things are not crammed up to save space. It's easier on the eyes.

The book also comes with nice, succinct footnotes that explain what words mean in modern English without getting too technical or scholarly. It's a good book that's easy to use, readable, inexpensive and not so academical while providing good information. So, I'm happy with it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a really nice edition, September 3, 2003

By 

Digital Puer "digital_puer" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Great Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Twelfth Night; The Tempest (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

Rather than commenting about the plays themselves, I'm writing about this particular edition. Signet produces good editions of Shakespeare's plays. The footnotes are numerous, and the footnote mark in the body of the text is not intrusive (they use a superscripted 'o' instead of a number). The paper quality is good, and the font is quite clear.

This collection of four of the Bard's comedies is a very cost-effective way of getting four books for a lower price than if you bought them separately. It includes a 17-page scholarly introduction that's focused specifically on the four comedies here. The comedies then follow, with no intermediary text.

One thing that is missing is the nice introductory 50-page biographical sketch of the Bard found in other Signet Shakespeare books. I also have the Signet editions of Romeo & Juliet and Othello, and both of those have the same 50-page introduction. I do not know if the individual editions of these four comedies have the same, but I would think so. Hence, if you already have another Signet edition of any of the Bard's plays with that introduction, the omission of it here won't be a big deal at all.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Interpretation, March 9, 2001

By 

amber (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Great Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Twelfth Night; The Tempest (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

This book is one of the best shakespeare books that i have seen. It offers clear interpretations of language that is uncommon in our time, often giving several differing interpretations which are still being debated by language experts. It is simple enough for a first time shakespeare reader, yet still retains all of the content. However, constantly looking at the footnotes, some of which can take up a fourth of a page, grows tiresome, which is why the book only gets 4 stars.