Synopses & Reviews
FOLGER Shakespeare Library
THE WORLD'S LEADING CENTER FOR SHAKESPEARE STUDIES
Each edition includes:
· Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
· Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
· Scene-by-scene plot summaries
· A key to famous lines and phrases
· An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
· An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
· Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
Essay by Stephen Orgel
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.
Synopsis
Completely re-edited, the New Folger Library editions of Shakespeare's plays put readers in touch with current ways of thinking about Shakespeare. Each freshly edited text is based directly on what the editors consider the best early printed version of the play. Each volume contains full explanatory notes on pages facing the text of the play, as well as a helpful introduction to Shakespeare's language. The accounts of William Shakespeare's life, his theater, and the publication of his plays present the latest scholarship, and the annotated reading lists suggest sources of further information. The illustrations of objects, clothing, and mythological figures mentioned in the plays are drawn from the Library's vast holdings of rare books. At the conclusion of each play there is a full essay by an outstanding scholar who assesses the play in light of today's interests and concerns.
Synopsis
The Winter s Tale, one of Shakespeare s very late plays, is filled with improbabilities. Before the conclusion, one character comments that what we are about to see, Were it but told you, should be hooted at / Like an old tale.
It includes murderous passions, man-eating bears, princes and princesses in disguise, death by drowning and by grief, oracles, betrayal, and unexpected joy. Yet the play, which draws much of its power from Greek myth, is grounded in the everyday.
A winter s tale is one told or read on a long winter s night. Paradoxically, this winter s tale is ideally seen rather than read though the imagination can transform words into vivid action. Its shift from tragedy to comedy, disguises, and startling exits and transformations seem addressed to theater audiences.
The authoritative edition of The Winter s Tale from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:
-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
-Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
-Scene-by-scene plot summaries
-A key to the play s famous lines and phrases
-An introduction to reading Shakespeare s language
-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library s vast holdings of rare books
-An annotated guide to further reading
Essay by Stephen Orgel
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world s largest collection of Shakespeare s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu."
Synopsis
FOLGER Shakespeare Library
THE WORLD'S LEADING CENTER FOR SHAKESPEARE STUDIES
Each edition includes:
· Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
· Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
· Scene-by-scene plot summaries
· A key to famous lines and phrases
· An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
· An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
· Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
Essay by Stephen Orgel
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.
About the Author
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger Shakespeare Library offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.
Barbara A. Mowat is Director of Academic Programs at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Editor of Shakespeare Quarterly, Chair of the Folger Institute, and author of The Dramaturgy of Shakespeare's Romances and of essays on Shakespeare's plays and on the editing of the plays.
Paul Werstine is Professor of English at King's College and the Graduate School of the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He is the author of many papers and articles on the printing and editing of Shakespeare's plays and was Associate Editor of the annual Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England from 1980 to 1989.