Twelfth Night (Arden Shakespeare Second Series) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1998 | ISBN-10: 0174435827 | ISBN-13: 978-0174435822

Unique features include an extensive overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater by the general editor of Signet Classic Shakespeare series, plus a special introduction to the play by the editor Sylvan Barnet, Tufts University. It also contains dramatic criticism from the past and present, and a special introduction to the play by the editor, Herschel Baker, Harvard University.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-William Shakespeare's comedy of disguised and deceptive love is entertainingly brought to listeners on these high-quality audiocassettes. Using the complete text from the New Cambridge Shakespeare text, the production presents a full cast of accomplished Shakespearean actors and actresses who skillfully convey the emotion and meaning, confusion and humor of this popular play. When twins Sebastian and Viola are shipwrecked and separated off the coast of Illyria, each believes the other is dead. Viola disguises herself as a boy, becomes a page of Duke Orsinio, and falls in love with him. The Duke is hopelessly in love with Olivia, but she is in the process of mourning her brother's death and becomes infatuated with Viola as she/he delivers messages for the Duke. When Sebastian shows up, Olivia confuses him with the Duke's page (Olivia) and marries the astonished young man. All is cleared up eventually when Viola and Sebatian meet and recognize each other. In the midst of all of this romantic confusion, servants and family members provide comic relief with their pompous, pretentious, and sometimes inebriated behavior. Early English music and excellent sound effects are sparingly included, yet add greatly to this performance. Reading along with the text is optional as the production moves at an easy-to-follow pace, and characterizations are clear and captivating. A booklet with background and a synopsis of the play, photos and descriptions of each cast member, and starting points for each scene on the proper tape side is a useful addition. For its entertainment value or as a supplement to the curriculum, this excellent audioplay is highly recommended.
Marilyn Higgins, Metuchen High School, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

`The commentary on Twelfth Night is alive with the editors' feeling for the play in performance.' M.M. Mahoud, University of Kent, YES, 27, 1996 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Arden Shakespeare (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0174435827
• ISBN-13: 978-0174435822
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,542,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Naxos complete recording the best so far, November 4, 2000

By 

F. Behrens "Frank Behrens" (Keene, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twelfth Night (Classic Drama) (Audio CD)

Please notice that G.H.'s in-house review above does not refer to the recording pictured above, nor do any of the reviews so far. What follows refers only to the Naxos set.

There are now three complete recordings of <Twelfth Night> available. We have the older and elegantly read version on Harper Audio with Dorothy Tutin as the best Viola of the lot. Acted with a bit more verve though with less poetry is the Arkangel Shakespeare recording with a Scottish Malvolio and a cast of younger sounding actors who are making names for themselves in Great Britain. However I am very impressed with the "Twelfth Night" that is one of the latest additions to the Naxos Classic Drama series.

By far, this is the best-produced "Twelfth Night." One actually feels he is hearing an actual stage performance with all of the action but with the loss of none of the poetry. Perhaps the Viola does sound a little maturer than imagination would have her and the Sir Toby Belch a little less belchy sounding than others. None of the Festes sing as marvelously as did Peter Pears on the long deleted Marlowe Society recording (also with Tutin); however, on this Naxos set David Timson stays nicely in tune--and directs the production to boot. And he keeps things moving neatly along, which is saying a lot for Shakespeare recordings.

The CD version has the advantage of excellent tracking cues for not only each scene but for key points within the scene. The Harper CDs give a new track only for each new scene and the tapes (of course) are quite useless in that regard. The Arkangel series at present exists only on tapes but they are planning to reissue the entire series on CDs. So this Naxos release is the one of choice so far.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best Shakespeare play on audio ever, June 8, 1998

By 

Molly the Cat "Meow" (the USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twelfth Night (Audio Cassette)

Each of the Harper/Caedmon Audio series of Shakespeare's plays, originally recorded in the 60s by the Shakespeare Recording Society and now being reissued on cassette, lives up to a high standard of performance. But the "Twelfth Night" recording is, in my view, the best. The stellar cast includes a young Vanessa Redgrave as Olivia, and a hilarious Willoughby Goddard as Sir Toby. The scenes where Paul Scofield as Malvolio is deceived with a forged letter into thinking that Olivia loves him have a side-splitting humor that comes through even though the play is nearly 400 years old. The sound quality is excellent. I would have to say that this is the crown jewel of the whole Caedmon series.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I would give it five stars, but. . ., June 5, 2000

By 

Candice Cullitan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twelfth Night (Mass Market Paperback)

. . . to really achieve its full potential, this play needs to be acted out on stage. Still, highly excellent, involving twins, cross-dressing, love tangles, sword-fighting, secret marriages, music, disguises, mistaken identities, high speech, and lowbrow humour.

The entire play takes place in Illyria. In the main plot, Orsino is in love with Olivia, who unfortunately does not return his feelings. Viola is shipwrecked on the Illyrian coast, and dressed as a boy, comes to serve in Orsino's court, where she of course falls in love with Orsino. Meanwhile, in Olivia's court, some of her courtiers plan a cruel--but funny--practical joke against her pompous steward Malvolio. There is also a third plot later on involving Viola's twin brother Sebastian, who has been shipwrecked likewise. Naturally things get quite confusing, but, true to Shakespeare's comedic style, everything gets worked out in the end.

This is an enjoyable book to read, and the notes are very helpful. However, it is still better as a performance.