Measure for Measure: The Oxford Shakespeare Measure for Measure [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), N. W. Bawcutt (Editor)

Book Description

Series: The Oxford Shakespeare | Publication Date: May 15, 2008

Shakespeare's vivid dramatic projection of moral and ethical issues in Measure for Measure has given the play great appeal to both readers and theatergoers. Exploring the play's qualities as a complex work of art written specifically for the theater, the introduction to this new edition sets the play in its historical context, discussing the originality of Shakespeare's treatment of a well-known story. Bawcutt explains the obsolete marriage customs, and also offers a comprehensive account of the text's theatrical afterlife from Restoration adaptations to recent productions.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`The introduction is quite informative and sensible, the text accurate and handsome, the notes solicitous enough to sustain a beginning student and deep enough to support scholarly uses ... another good edition of the play: highly learned, handsome, accurate, and fair-minded.' Robert N. Watson, Shakespeare Quarterly, Summer '93

'well-balanced, intelligent, and slightly detached from the play and its issues' J.G. Saunders, Review of English Studies, Vol. 45, No. 177, Feb, 1994

About the Author

N. R. Bawcutt is Reader in English Literature, University of Liverpool

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Reissue edition (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199535841
• ISBN-13: 978-0199535842
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent edition of an excellent play., August 14, 2009

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Christopher H. (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Measure for Measure: The Oxford Shakespeare Measure for Measure (Paperback)

Measure for Measure, one of Shakespeare's grimmest plays, is ably presented in this Oxford World's Classics edition. The critical introduction is excellent as usual; the notes are ample but not rambling, and, as is the custom with these editions, they provide more information and deeper insights than the brief glosses and historical notices with which many other editions content themselves. The appendix on textual cruces was especially thorough. The play itself is a fascinating one. Shakespeare's 'problem plays' have always been amongst my favourites, combining as they do aspects of the dramatic structure of comedy with an often cynical treatment of stony themes and unattractive characters. In this play, the interference of hypocrisy in the course of justice, the proper place of justice, punishment, and revenge in the workings of society, the nature of crime and guilt, and the failure of individuals to live up to the demands of their public rôles in their private lives are combined with the bed-trick that Shakespeare used to a very different effect in All's Well That Ends Well. A fine edition of one of Shakespeare's finest.