Brian Morris was Professor of English Literature at Sheffield University and a general editor of both the Arden Shakespeare and the New Mermaid Dramatists series. His other publications include editions of the plays of John Ford and the poems of John Cleveland.
Morris’s introduction begins with a discussion of the text as it first appeared in the First Folio of 1623. In the next section, he analyzes the problematic relationship between The Taming of the Shrew and The Taming of a Shrew, a different play which first appeared in text 29 years before the First Folio, and whose virtually identical name has caused much confusion. Morris then considers the date, sources, and authorship of the play, addressing the question of whether Shakespeare himself wrote it. In the last and most substantial part of the introduction, the editor examines the play’s structures, themes (such as education, love, and marriage), and afterlife. Three appendices follow the text of the play: evidence to establish the relationship of The Shrew and A Shrew, from Samuel Hickson; the Sly scenes in A Shrew; and a source (from Gascoigne’s Supposes) and analogues.
The Arden Shakespeare has developed a reputation as the pre-eminent critical edition of Shakespeare for its exceptional scholarship, reflected in the thoroughness of each volume. An introduction comprehensively contextualizes the play, chronicling the history and culture that surrounded and influenced Shakespeare at the time of its writing and performance, and closely surveying critical approaches to the work. Detailed appendices address problems like dating and casting, and analyze the differing Quarto and Folio sources. A full commentary by one or more of the play’s foremost contemporary scholars illuminates the text, glossing unfamiliar terms and drawing from an abundance of research and expertise to explain allusions and significant background information. Highly informative and accessible, Arden offers the fullest experience of Shakespeare available to a reader.
