The Tempest (Norton Critical Editions) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), Peter Hulme (Editor), William H. Sherman (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393978192 | ISBN-13: 978-0393978193 | Publication Date: December 2003

The Tempest presents some of Shakespeare’s most insightful meditations on the cycle of life—ending and beginning, death and regeneration, bondage and freedom. This Norton Critical Edition is based on the First Folio text and is accompanied by explanatory annotations.

“Sources and Contexts” offers a rich collection of documents on the play’s central themes—magic and witchcraft, politics and religion, geography and travel. Writers include Ovid, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Gabriel Naudé, Michel de Montaigne, and William Strachey.

“Criticism” collects eighteen responses to The Tempest, from John Dryden and Samuel Taylor Coleridge to Stephen Orgel and Leah Marcus. “Rewritings and Appropriations” includes creative reactions to The Tempest, by playwrights, filmmakers, and poets, among them H.D., Peter Greenaway, and Ted Hughes.

A Selected Bibliography is also included.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Hulme is Professor of Literature at the University of Essex. He is the author of Colonial Encounters: Europe and the Native Caribbean, 1492-1797 and Remnants of Conquest: The Caribs and Their Visitors, 1877-1998. He is co-editor, with William H. Sherman, of The Tempest and Its Travels and, with Tim Young, of the Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing.

William H. Sherman is Professor of Early Modern Studies in the Department of English and Related Literature at the University of York. He is the author of John Dee: The Politics of Reading and Writing in the English Renaissance and of many articles on Renaissance literature, travel writing, and the history of the book. He has also edited The Tempest and Its Travels with Peter Hulme, and the new Cambridge edition of Ben Jonson's The Alchemist with Peter Holland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393978192
• ISBN-13: 978-0393978193
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What you deserve from Norton at a good price., September 30, 2009

By 

Antoine Boisvert (Salem, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tempest (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

I found this a very helpful and interesting adjunct to the play proper (although, of course, it has the play in it). Like most NCE's it is stuffed with extras: primary sources, critical reactions and analyses, and creative reinterpretations. The price is a little higher than the Folger or other popular Shakepeare's paperbacks, but you get a lot of bang for only a few extra bucks. Pretty cool. I found it worked well as a "Teacher's Edition."

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tempest, January 17, 2010

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John M. Weinstock (Dripping Springs, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tempest (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

The Tempest and The Winter's Tale are late Shakespeare and both begin when most of the action has already taken place, so they reflect on what has transpired. Very beautiful ideas.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This was a textbook and I got it used, October 4, 2011

By 

A. S. Herry - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tempest (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

I am not a fan of Shakespeare, I have given him a few shots since high school (I think I first tried about 10 years ago to like him since everyone thinks he's so great) but I just don't really like him. Good writer, especially for his time, but I don't like him.

But like or not that's not what my review is about. You can read The Tempest online (might be illegal but meh) but I needed a academic copy and was recommended the Norton Critical Edition (NCE) which is funny since there are required readings from the supplements.

The only thing I don't really like about it (and this is just preference) is the foot notes aren't labeled in the text. Some people might prefer this as it unclutters the page but I often forget there are little notes because my other NCE books number all the notes. Not a big deal as by now Shakespeare is pretty easy to read, but it's just a little annoying (it seems whenever I would like some clarification on what a word means they don't note it, and other times I will be like "oh, woah, that's a lot of notes... eh, not too important").

Anyway, I ordered this used from Amazon (with Amazon prime) and it was much nicer than any other used books in class. Most peoples' books was full of markings and such and my book looks brand new. I am guessing someone else had it for a textbook and liked Shakespeare even less than myself (the binding wasn't even creased, I have started to abuse it myself though). I have ordered a few used Amazon books since this one and they are always pretty good but this one was exceptionally nice. I wouldn't worry about saving a few bucks to get used especially if it's something you probably won't use much for recreation.

Only 4 stars because I think Shakespeare is over rated but still a good writer.