William Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Oxford Shakespeare) [Hardcover]

William Shakespeare (Author), Stanley Wells (Editor), Gary Taylor (Editor), John Jowet (Editor), William Montgomery (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Oxford Shakespeare | Publication Date: September 16, 1999

Here are all of Shakespeare's plays and poems in a compact edition that fits nearly onto your bookshelf or comfortably in your lap. And, as if all of the Bard were not enough, this reissue of an Oxford Classic offers something more: editions of the plays in their theatrical versions, as they were originally performed on the Elizabethan stage. This edition also features a brief introduction to each work, as well as an illuminating General Introduction; reconsiders every detail of the text and presentation of Shakespeare's complete works in the light of modern scholarship; re-examines the nature and authority of the early documents, and freshly establishes the canon and chronological order of composition; and modernizes spelling and punctuation to make the works more accessible to modern readers, without ever altering their original language or meter.
The Times Higher Education Supplement called William Shakespeare: The Complete Works "the most ambitious edition of the works ever attempted," and The Times (London) hailed it as "a monument to Shakespearean scholarship." For scholars and general readers alike, this is a must-have collection for your home library.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Penguin Putnam shows true strength of Will by gathering all the titles in its Pelican Shakespeare line into a single, beautiful volume, complete with cloth covers and a ribbon marker. (LJ 11/15/02)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

"The most ambitious edition of the works ever attempted."--Times Higher Education Supplement

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1232 pages
• Publisher: Clarendon Press / Oxford University Press; Compact edition (September 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198711905
• ISBN-13: 978-0198711902
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,225,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

146 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent edition of the complete works, with a few quirks, March 9, 2000

By 

C. Hulshof "Sic transit gloria mundi" (Enschede, OV Netherlands) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: William Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Oxford Shakespeare) (Hardcover)

In contrast to some of the other editions of the complete works of Shakespeare, this book really is value for money. All plays (and poems, etcetera) are printed in a lavishly, pleasing way, very easy to the eye (one of the biggest drawbacks of some editions is that they use a very small font to keep the number of pages to a minimum). As others have commented, not much can and should be commented on the works themselves, they have stood the test of time, and the (normal) spelling that is used in this edition makes each reading an enjoyable experience. All the plays are given a brief (and somewhat succinct) introduction, which is, at best, okay. The strange things, in this book, are, for example, the order of the plays, the way King Lear is printed in two versions (that differ only in small details), and the inclusion of fragments that are attributed to Shakespeare (a bit controversial to say the least). Still, if you want to buy a good, thorough, and well-researched edition of the complete works of Shakespeare, you will not go far wrong with this book.

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cannot compete against better editions, September 6, 2001

By 

Joost Daalder "Joost Daalder" (South Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: William Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Oxford Shakespeare) (Hardcover)

The modernised one-volume Oxford Complete Works edited by Wells and Taylor has little of significance to offer that is not bettered by its competitors. Its general introduction is thin and bland, and the introductions to individual plays amount to little more than one-page notes. There are no explanatory notes of any kind to accompany the words on the page, and the glossary at the end of the book offers very little help indeed. Thus readers are largely left to flounder on their own. There are certainly, as much publicity has assured us, a number of new textual features, but these are often characterised by a craving for novelty rather than that they have proved convincing or useful to many readers: fewer and fewer readers today really want two texts of *King Lear*, and the number of people inclined to believe the editorial arguments in favour of the so-called "two-text theory" is decreasing rather than growing; similarly, there are no truly good reasons for calling Falstaff "Sir John Oldcastle", etc. As the scholars who have put the edition together are very reputable and their handling of the text does deserve the attention of academics, scholars like myself do, of course, want to own a copy. But I use it sporadically, and hardly feel like recommending it to the non-specialist, who will be much better served by buying, especially, David Bevington's edition, or else - though very much as a second choice - the Riverside, or, failing that - and very much as a third choice - the Norton. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (South Australia)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile trip, December 13, 2001

By 

"azurafrost" (fl) - See all my reviews

This review is from: William Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Oxford Shakespeare) (Hardcover)

On a recent trip to England, I saw Twelfth Night at the RSC Theatre. Of course, being a TEENAGER who LOVES SHAKESPEARE, I had to stop by the Shakespheare Birth Trust Company and visit the house he lived in. That is where I picked up this wonderful book, along wih a few extras. I feel in love almost instantly with the cover art and the way it was printed. Including all his plays, sonnents and poems, it's a great collector item for Shakespeare fanatics.