The Two Gentlemen of Verona: The Oxford Shakespeare (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), Roger Warren (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2008 | Series: Oxford World's Classics

Thought to be Shakespeare's earliest surviving play, The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy filled with passionate lovers, women disguised as men, sword fights and sudden revelations, and a happy denouement, all underscored by a farcical subplot featuring the character Launce and his dog Crab. Perfect for theater professionals and general readers, this marvelous edition includes an extensive performance history, a commentary illuminating the complexities of Shakespeare's language, and a setting of the song "Who is Silvia?" prepared from an Elizabethan source. The introduction by Roger Warren explores the play as a theatrical counterpart to the sonnets--a dramatization of competing kinds of love--analyzes the lyrical language, and provides further evidence that The Two Gentlemen is indeed Shakespeare's earliest play. Based on the text contained in The Oxford Shakespeare, this edition also includes substantive notes; a new, modern-spelling text, collated and edited from all existing printings; and on-page commentary and notes explain language, word-play, and staging. Attractively illustrated and durably constructed for lasting use, this is the finest edition of The Two Gentlemen in print.

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

Roger Warren's edition of the play in the excellent Oxford series is emphatically performance-orientated throughout. Ruth Morse, Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Roger Warren is the editor of the Oxford Shakespeare editions of Cymbeline, Pericles, Henry VI, Part 2 and (with Stanley Wells) Twelfth Night in Oxford World's Classics. He works extensively in the professional theatre, often in collaboration with Peter Hall.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192831429
• ISBN-13: 978-0192831422
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,579,278 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.