The Tragedy of King Richard III (Oxford Shakespeare) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), John Jowett (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Oxford Shakespeare | Publication Date: May 17, 2001

Richard III is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays on the stage and has been adapted successfully for film. This new and innovative edition recognizes the play's pre-eminence as a performance work: a perspective that informs every aspect of the editing. Challenging traditional practice, the text is based on the 1597 Quarto which, brings us closest to the play as it would have been staged in Shakespeare's theater. The introduction, which is illustrated, explores the long performance history from Shakespeare's time to the present. The commentary gives detailed explanation of matters of language, staging, text, and historical and cultural contexts, providing coverage that is both carefully balanced and alert to nuance of meaning.
Documentation of the extensive textual variants is organized for maximum clarity: the readings of the Folio and the Quarto are presented in separate sections, and more specific information is given at the back of the book. Appendices also include selected passages from the main source and a special index of actors and other theatrical personnel.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Thanks to the recent film version, Richard is again a hot property. This Dover Thrift edition is the most economical way to stock extra copies.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

`This is far and away the finest critical edition of the play available' Eric Rasmussen, Shakespeare Survey

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Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192839934
• ISBN-13: 978-0192839930
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,799,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Devilishly Delightful, February 9, 2004

By 

Chris Salzer (Gainesville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Richard III (The New Folger Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having never read Richard III, I knew that I would be in for a treat, but nothing quite THIS good. Originally labeled as The Tragedy of Richard III by Shakespeare, one can see, upon reading this enthralling play, why this history/tragedy firmly entrenched itself as one of The Bard's most prolifically performed plays with almost unrivaled longevity due to its immense popularity among the genteel and yeomen alike.

Although the much-maligned humpback King Richard was by no means a saint by any stretch, he was not, however, as wretchedly insidious as Shakespeare might have us believe. In an effort to pander to Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare cast perhaps an overly morose shadow over the House of York. The play itself, interestingly enough, focuses not so much on the bloody ending of The War of Roses and the ascension to the throne of Henry VII(the grandfather of Elizabeth) as it does on the uncannily cunning connivances of Richard III. Richard's dastardly deeds, the sordid means to his end of usurping the crown, know no limits as he murders any and all who dare get in his way - and even those that don't(I suppose they're guilty by association).

Inextricably, although I by no means empathize with him even remotely, Richard somehow, despite his inordinately decadent reprobate ploys, coupled with his twisted soliloquies pleading to the audience his hopeless case, make him one entirely enigmatic, yet entirely captivating, antagonist that makes this play enticingly enjoyable -- in a most devilish kind of way.

"O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!"

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cambridge (Lull) edition one of the best intros., July 12, 2000

By 

Dr. Richard D. Feinman (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: King Richard III (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) (Paperback)

This edition has one of the best introductions I've read: informative, well-written and with photos from productions of R III. Just the section on Macbeth and Richard makes this top-notch. Even the Folio/Quarto stuff is interesting -- short and not pedantic. This is my choice for Richard III edition.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Elven marked abortive rooting hog", August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Richard III (Shakespeare, Pelican) (Paperback)

Shakespeare portrays King Richard III as a hunchbacked thoroughly evil man. While based upon the historical Richard III, the play is a dramatization. Although classed as a history, remember that Shakespeare's histories aren't historically accurate biographies. Richard is a power-hungry brother of a king who murders, schemes, marries, and plots to usurp the throne from rightful heirs. Richard gets his due when he meets Henry Tudor on the field of battle and the reign of the Yorkist kings comes to an end. Written under the rule of a Tudor monarch (Elizabeth I), the play paints the brutal Richard in an especially unfavorable light. After all, the rise of the Tudors depended upon the death of Richard III. The treatment of women in the play has been criticized, especially the speed under which Anne accepts Richard III -- with her dead father in law in the scene, no less. The play compresses 14 years or so of real history into 5 acts. It is hard to go wrong with Shakespeare. A good but dark read.