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Complete Works
FROM THE WORLD FAMOUS ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY, THE FIRST AUTHORITATIVE, MODERNIZED, AND CORRECTED EDITION OF SHAKESPEARE’S FIRST FOLIO IN THREE CENTURIES.
Skillfully assembled by Shakespeare’s fellow actors in 1623, the First Folio was the original Complete Works. It is arguably the most important literary work in the English language. But starting with Nicholas Rowe in 1709 and continuing to the present day, Shakespeare editors have mixed Folio and Quarto texts, gradually corrupting the original Complete Works with errors and conflated textual variations.
Now Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars, have edited the First Folio as a complete book, resulting in a definitive Complete Works for the twenty-first century.
Combining innovative scholarship with brilliant commentary and textual analysis that emphasizes performance history and values, this landmark edition will be indispensable to students, theater professionals, and general readers alike.
For more information on this Modern Library edition, visit www.therscshakespeare.com
Skillfully assembled by Shakespeare’s fellow actors in 1623, the First Folio was the original Complete Works. It is arguably the most important literary work in the English language. But starting with Nicholas Rowe in 1709 and continuing to the present day, Shakespeare editors have mixed Folio and Quarto texts, gradually corrupting the original Complete Works with errors and conflated textual variations.
Now Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars, have edited the First Folio as a complete book, resulting in a definitive Complete Works for the twenty-first century.
Combining innovative scholarship with brilliant commentary and textual analysis that emphasizes performance history and values, this landmark edition will be indispensable to students, theater professionals, and general readers alike.
For more information on this Modern Library edition, visit www.therscshakespeare.com
2560 pages, Hardcover
Published April 3, 2007
About the author
William Shakespeare
17.9k books48.6k followersWilliam Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 28, 2007
I did it.
38 plays, 2 long poems, and 154 sonnets in 2462 onion-paper pages. I read them all. ALL. I think I deserve a self-congratulation for this. Yes. Good job!
It took me more than two months of intense reading that toughened my wrists and arms from reading it on the train standing, hardened my heart with stony indifference against people's perplexed and peering gazes thrown at me even to the point of leaning in from the side to see what the hell I'm reading, and made me utterly fearless against any future reference to Shakespeare.
From the end of January to today, April 5th, it was a long journey during which time I came out of Shakespearean depths only once to take a quick breather for five days and read one contemporary book. It was a long, long read indeed.
So what do I think of his works? Amazing. If you speak English, read them.
My favorite comedies are The Comedy of Errors, The Midsummer Night's Dream , All's Well That Ends Well, and of course, my absolute favorite, The Merchant of Venice. As for histories, Henry IV part 1&2, Henry V, and Richard III were fascinating and beautiful in myriad aspects. It seems like I'm drawn to wicked villains like Richard III, Shylock, and Barabas (Marlowe's The Jew of Malta), though I didn't absolutely love Iago from Othello for some reason.
And tragedies. Oh man. I read Macbeth and Julius Caesar in high school and middle school respectively, but I can say I understood less than 10% of their artistic merit now that I read them again. Macbeth is just a short, sweet, and wicked play with enchanting poetry, and the speeches in Julius Caesar are just mind-blowing in their poetry and rhetoric.
Romeo and Juliet definitely belongs to one of his greatest works. It's got the engaging story, beautiful language, and comic scenes all rolled in one - everything that makes a work of art entertaining and satisfying to people from all walks of life. Cymbeline is also awesome. The ending just so unrealistic that it's unbelievably satisfying. Hamlet is like a given and I don't think I need to say anything about it other than that it rocks.
Oh and I really liked this minor play, Titus Andronicus, considered by many critics to be one of his inferior plays. Granted, the beginning is just absolute shit at least plot-wise, but man, it's AWESOME with all that bloody murders and plotting and hatred and violence. It may be poetically inferior to other tragedies, but story-wise, it holds its own among his corpus.
I did it!
38 plays, 2 long poems, and 154 sonnets in 2462 onion-paper pages. I read them all. ALL. I think I deserve a self-congratulation for this. Yes. Good job!
It took me more than two months of intense reading that toughened my wrists and arms from reading it on the train standing, hardened my heart with stony indifference against people's perplexed and peering gazes thrown at me even to the point of leaning in from the side to see what the hell I'm reading, and made me utterly fearless against any future reference to Shakespeare.
From the end of January to today, April 5th, it was a long journey during which time I came out of Shakespearean depths only once to take a quick breather for five days and read one contemporary book. It was a long, long read indeed.
So what do I think of his works? Amazing. If you speak English, read them.
My favorite comedies are The Comedy of Errors, The Midsummer Night's Dream , All's Well That Ends Well, and of course, my absolute favorite, The Merchant of Venice. As for histories, Henry IV part 1&2, Henry V, and Richard III were fascinating and beautiful in myriad aspects. It seems like I'm drawn to wicked villains like Richard III, Shylock, and Barabas (Marlowe's The Jew of Malta), though I didn't absolutely love Iago from Othello for some reason.
And tragedies. Oh man. I read Macbeth and Julius Caesar in high school and middle school respectively, but I can say I understood less than 10% of their artistic merit now that I read them again. Macbeth is just a short, sweet, and wicked play with enchanting poetry, and the speeches in Julius Caesar are just mind-blowing in their poetry and rhetoric.
Romeo and Juliet definitely belongs to one of his greatest works. It's got the engaging story, beautiful language, and comic scenes all rolled in one - everything that makes a work of art entertaining and satisfying to people from all walks of life. Cymbeline is also awesome. The ending just so unrealistic that it's unbelievably satisfying. Hamlet is like a given and I don't think I need to say anything about it other than that it rocks.
Oh and I really liked this minor play, Titus Andronicus, considered by many critics to be one of his inferior plays. Granted, the beginning is just absolute shit at least plot-wise, but man, it's AWESOME with all that bloody murders and plotting and hatred and violence. It may be poetically inferior to other tragedies, but story-wise, it holds its own among his corpus.
I did it!
September 15, 2017
January:
1. Two Gentlemen of Verona (1589–1591) - January 1, 2017
2 The Taming of the Shrew (1590–1591) - January 5, 2017
3 Henry VI, Part 2 (1591) - February 1, 2017
February:
4 Henry VI, Part 3 (1591) - February 3, 2017
5 Henry VI, Part 1 (1591–1592) - January 21, 2017
6 Titus Andronicus (1591–1592) - February 9, 2017
March:
7 Richard III (1592–1593) - March 4, 2017
8. The Comedy of Errors (1594) - March 11, 2017
9. Love's Labour's Lost (1594–1595) - March 27, 2017
April:
10. Richard II (1595) - April 7, 2017
11. Romeo and Juliet (1595) - April 12, 2017
12. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595) - April 21, 2017
May:
13. King John (1596) - May 3, 2017
14. The Merchant of Venice (1596–1597) - May 8, 2017
15. Henry IV, Part 1 (1596-1597) - May 20, 2017
June:
16. The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597) - June 20, 2017
17. Henry IV, Part 2 (1597-1598) - June 24, 2017
18. Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1599) - June 25, 2017
July:
19. Henry V (1599) - July 5, 2017
20. Julius Caesar (1599) - July 10, 2017
21. As You Like It (1599-1600) - July 26, 2017
August:
22. Hamlet (1600-1601)- August 12, 2017
23. Twelfth Night (1601) - August 15, 2017
24. Troilus and Cressida ((1600–1602) - August 29, 2017
September:
25. Measure for Measure (1603-1604) - September 6, 2017
26. Othello (1603-1604) - September 15, 2017
27. All's Well that Ends Well (1604-1605) - September 12, 2017
October:
28. King Lear (1605–1606) - October 19, 2017
29. Timon of Athens (1605–1606) - October 20, 2017
30. Macbeth (1606) - October 28, 2017
November:
31. Antony and Cleopatra (1606) - November 17, 2017
32. Coriolanus (1608) - November 23, 2017
33. The Winter's Tale (1609–1611) - November 25, 2017
December:
34. Cymbeline (1610) - December 11, 2017
35. The Tempest (1610–1611) - December 12, 2017
36. Henry VIII (1612–1613) - December 16, 2017
Other:
Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1607–1608) - November 21, 2017
The Sonnets (1609) - December 19, 2017
The Two Noble Kinsmen (1613–1614) - December 19, 2017
The Narrative Poems (1593-1594) - December 23, 2017
October 3, 2010
What an exquisite edition of one of the greatest works in the Western canon. Armed with an authoritative editorial team, Professor Jonathan Bate has reworked all of Shakespeare's plays, as well as his poems. The footnotes are extensive and cover all meanings of words (including the more salacious ones that many school texts leave out), while also providing informative historical and contextual information.
This edition seeks to give us every word attributed to Shakespeare (although, as it points out at length, we can't really know what he wrote: all of our current versions come from a variety of sources typeset in his later years, and primarily from the First Folio printed after his death. Any work of the Bard's is distorted in some way). With appendices and footnotes, notable textual errors or areas of debate are highlighted.
There is so much to love here. Epic tragedies - Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, King Lear - joined by their lesser, but poetically affecting counterparts like Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Titus Andronicus. Shakespeare plays with and shuffles around comic tropes in his wide variety of comedies: peaks include The Comedy of Errors, Love's Labour's Lost, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing.
In his more subdued romances, Shakespeare often seems reduced to more typical characters yet imbues than with layer upon layer of subtlety: Measure for Measure and The Winter's Tale are particularly splendid examples. Some of the tragedies and comedies aren't as startling, and some are challenging - such as his part-satire Troilus and Cressida - but every work brims with characters whose opinions, beliefs and motives are individual, and not simply echoing those of an author. Beyond these plays lies a staggering cycle of love poems in The Sonnets, as well as his other various poetry which always makes fascinating, lyrical reading.
Capping all this is Shakespeare's incredible cycle of English history, which details the country's fate from 1199 to 1533, through the stories of the English monarchs: their battles, their loves, their lives and the effect their squabbles have over countless citizens. The cycle begins with the somewhat talky King John (far from my favourite work, but well presented in the BBC Complete Works cycle) and ends with the autumnal King Henry VIII. In between are eight plays (two tetraologies) which encompass the Wars of the Roses, and they are astonishing. From the private thoughts of the monarch to the most unimportant peasant, Shakespeare captures an age.
The introductions on each play detail cultural successes over the centuries, as well as basic historical information. I've seen people suggest other aspects that could improve this - such as a suggestion of ways to double parts (this is defined as the "actor's edition"). Certainly, I can accept that, but as it stands this is already beyond a 5-star piece of work. A place of honour on my shelf, that's for sure.
This edition seeks to give us every word attributed to Shakespeare (although, as it points out at length, we can't really know what he wrote: all of our current versions come from a variety of sources typeset in his later years, and primarily from the First Folio printed after his death. Any work of the Bard's is distorted in some way). With appendices and footnotes, notable textual errors or areas of debate are highlighted.
There is so much to love here. Epic tragedies - Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, King Lear - joined by their lesser, but poetically affecting counterparts like Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Titus Andronicus. Shakespeare plays with and shuffles around comic tropes in his wide variety of comedies: peaks include The Comedy of Errors, Love's Labour's Lost, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing.
In his more subdued romances, Shakespeare often seems reduced to more typical characters yet imbues than with layer upon layer of subtlety: Measure for Measure and The Winter's Tale are particularly splendid examples. Some of the tragedies and comedies aren't as startling, and some are challenging - such as his part-satire Troilus and Cressida - but every work brims with characters whose opinions, beliefs and motives are individual, and not simply echoing those of an author. Beyond these plays lies a staggering cycle of love poems in The Sonnets, as well as his other various poetry which always makes fascinating, lyrical reading.
Capping all this is Shakespeare's incredible cycle of English history, which details the country's fate from 1199 to 1533, through the stories of the English monarchs: their battles, their loves, their lives and the effect their squabbles have over countless citizens. The cycle begins with the somewhat talky King John (far from my favourite work, but well presented in the BBC Complete Works cycle) and ends with the autumnal King Henry VIII. In between are eight plays (two tetraologies) which encompass the Wars of the Roses, and they are astonishing. From the private thoughts of the monarch to the most unimportant peasant, Shakespeare captures an age.
The introductions on each play detail cultural successes over the centuries, as well as basic historical information. I've seen people suggest other aspects that could improve this - such as a suggestion of ways to double parts (this is defined as the "actor's edition"). Certainly, I can accept that, but as it stands this is already beyond a 5-star piece of work. A place of honour on my shelf, that's for sure.
October 12, 2018
This is NOT The Riverside Shakespeare, Second Edition
The Riverside Shakespeare, Second Edition was published in hardback in 1997. The first edition was published in 1974. This electronic version contains nothing but the texts of the plays from the first edition. The title page of this electronic version states, "based on the 1974 Riverside Edition." When I took a course on Shakespeare in my second year of undergrad studies in 1 985, we used the original first edition (I do not know which printing of the first edition we used. About a year ago I bought the first edition in hard copy, used and in good condition (sixth printing, with corrections and additions) for only $4.00 because all of my books were destroyed in an apartment fire in early 1986. The pages of the first edition are 10 inches tall and nearly eight inches wide, with thin (but not extremely thin) paper. It is 1,923 pages long and contains a 26 page general introduction, followed by an 18 page section titled Shakespeare's Text. That section begins with several quotes of text familiar to Shakespeare readers, such as "[m]ost readers know that MacBeth, reproached by Lady MacBeth for seeming cowardice, asserts, 'I dare doo all that may become a man; / Who dares do more is none,'" and other such examples. After four more examples, the essay states': " What most readers are not aware of, however, is that none of these familiar lines appeared in the original, basic texts in exactly the same form here quoted; in fact, each contains one or more amended words designed to restore meaning to an otherwise corrupt passage. " This section of the first edition is followed by a chronology of texts and sources. Each play has an introduction of its own introduction. The first full-length page of The Comedy of Errors contains 39 footnotes making it possible to understand the text (e.g., "making amain" means "proceeding at full speed"; "gave healthful advice" means advice saving the lives of shipwracl'd guests, etc.).
The second edition 2,057 pages long, with additional information. It is available used in good or very good condition on Amazon and through other outlets for a mere $10.00. I could not possibly understand what I am reading without those notes and all of the other helpful information, all of which is missing from this electronic version falsely advertised as the second edition.
The Riverside Shakespeare, Second Edition was published in hardback in 1997. The first edition was published in 1974. This electronic version contains nothing but the texts of the plays from the first edition. The title page of this electronic version states, "based on the 1974 Riverside Edition." When I took a course on Shakespeare in my second year of undergrad studies in 1 985, we used the original first edition (I do not know which printing of the first edition we used. About a year ago I bought the first edition in hard copy, used and in good condition (sixth printing, with corrections and additions) for only $4.00 because all of my books were destroyed in an apartment fire in early 1986. The pages of the first edition are 10 inches tall and nearly eight inches wide, with thin (but not extremely thin) paper. It is 1,923 pages long and contains a 26 page general introduction, followed by an 18 page section titled Shakespeare's Text. That section begins with several quotes of text familiar to Shakespeare readers, such as "[m]ost readers know that MacBeth, reproached by Lady MacBeth for seeming cowardice, asserts, 'I dare doo all that may become a man; / Who dares do more is none,'" and other such examples. After four more examples, the essay states': " What most readers are not aware of, however, is that none of these familiar lines appeared in the original, basic texts in exactly the same form here quoted; in fact, each contains one or more amended words designed to restore meaning to an otherwise corrupt passage. " This section of the first edition is followed by a chronology of texts and sources. Each play has an introduction of its own introduction. The first full-length page of The Comedy of Errors contains 39 footnotes making it possible to understand the text (e.g., "making amain" means "proceeding at full speed"; "gave healthful advice" means advice saving the lives of shipwracl'd guests, etc.).
The second edition 2,057 pages long, with additional information. It is available used in good or very good condition on Amazon and through other outlets for a mere $10.00. I could not possibly understand what I am reading without those notes and all of the other helpful information, all of which is missing from this electronic version falsely advertised as the second edition.
October 3, 2016
This edition has really great footnotes and explanations that make the text come alive. It doesn't shy away from the real meanings and double entendres behind Shakespeare's text, and gives a lot of attention to wordplay. Every time I read a play from this edition, I feel like I've gained so much more appreciation for the language than previous attempts with other editions that tried to present it as a "great [and stuffy] work".
Want to Read
October 29, 2014An awesome birthday present from my darling erudite sis. ♥
September 7, 2020
Disclaimer: I haven't read the whole thing. This is more a review of the edition, rather than the works themselves.
So far I've read (from this edition---I've read other Shakespeare before):
The Taming of the Shrew: Awkward from a modern feminist perspective, but clever and funny.
The First Part of King Henry IV: Fantastic. A great mix of comedy, drama, and historical education. Gotta love/hate Falstaff.
Venus and Adonis: Fantastic. Unlike a play, this poem is designed to be read, and it turns out Shakespeare is very good at imagery.
The Winter's Tale: A strange story. Frustrating that the clearly crazy Leontes had such unrestricted power. Contains the excellent stage direction "Exit, pursued by a bear."
Love's Labour's Lost: Impressive poetry and wordplay, and the "recursive hypocrisy" scene is memorable. Overall, though, the characters and the plot are uninteresting.
As You Like It: Fantastic. Rosalind is amazingly well characterized.
All's Well That Ends Well: I liked it, despite the rather depressing theme that most people are selfish a-holes. The fight between Lafew and Parolles is a treasure trove of Shakespearean insults.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona: A simple story of unfaithful lust.
Measure for Measure: Fantastic. Really delves into ethical issues of excess power and hypocrisy.
The Merry Wives of Windsor: Fantastic; basically a sitcom. Difficult to read due to abundant archaic slang and miscommunication due to accents, but Falstaff remains a great source of laughs.
Troilus and Cressida: Fantastic. Nobody on either the Greek or Roman side is a hero, but their interactions are fascinating. Troilus and Cressida's midnight sundering is tragic and well written.
The Life and Death of King John: The most interesting scenes are the ones between King John and the citizen Hubert.
Antony and Cleopatra: I liked it. Cleopatra is a real firebrand.
Coriolanus: Fantastic. Perhaps my favorite Shakespeare play so far. Every act is action-packed. Coriolanus's tragic flaw is not very subtle, but Volumnia's speech at the end made me cry.
Titus Andronicus: Gruesome. Reminds me of Game of Thrones.
The Life of Timon of Athens: Meh. Nobody needs a reminder to moderate their generosity. Anyway, I blame Flavius.
What I liked
The editorial introduction by Jonathan Bate. Fifty pages of very interesting backstory about Shakespeare's life, the role of the theater in Elizabethan England, theatrical practices, the history of Shakespearean scholarship, and so forth.
Introductory material for each play / poem. The critical essays don't make much sense unless you already know the play, but still.
Exhaustive footnotes. The editors don't let a single bawdy pun or historical reference go by without drawing your attention to it. Truth be told, one could argue there are too many footnotes. It's often more fun to read the text on its own, trying to decipher strange words using context. But it's good to know that the footnotes are there for when you need them.
What I didn't like
The table of contents in the e-book is not very useful. It only links to the beginning of each play. If you want to find Act IV, Scene II, you'll have a lot of page-flipping to do.
So far I've read (from this edition---I've read other Shakespeare before):
The Taming of the Shrew: Awkward from a modern feminist perspective, but clever and funny.
The First Part of King Henry IV: Fantastic. A great mix of comedy, drama, and historical education. Gotta love/hate Falstaff.
Venus and Adonis: Fantastic. Unlike a play, this poem is designed to be read, and it turns out Shakespeare is very good at imagery.
The Winter's Tale: A strange story. Frustrating that the clearly crazy Leontes had such unrestricted power. Contains the excellent stage direction "Exit, pursued by a bear."
Love's Labour's Lost: Impressive poetry and wordplay, and the "recursive hypocrisy" scene is memorable. Overall, though, the characters and the plot are uninteresting.
As You Like It: Fantastic. Rosalind is amazingly well characterized.
All's Well That Ends Well: I liked it, despite the rather depressing theme that most people are selfish a-holes. The fight between Lafew and Parolles is a treasure trove of Shakespearean insults.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona: A simple story of unfaithful lust.
Measure for Measure: Fantastic. Really delves into ethical issues of excess power and hypocrisy.
The Merry Wives of Windsor: Fantastic; basically a sitcom. Difficult to read due to abundant archaic slang and miscommunication due to accents, but Falstaff remains a great source of laughs.
Troilus and Cressida: Fantastic. Nobody on either the Greek or Roman side is a hero, but their interactions are fascinating. Troilus and Cressida's midnight sundering is tragic and well written.
The Life and Death of King John: The most interesting scenes are the ones between King John and the citizen Hubert.
Antony and Cleopatra: I liked it. Cleopatra is a real firebrand.
Coriolanus: Fantastic. Perhaps my favorite Shakespeare play so far. Every act is action-packed. Coriolanus's tragic flaw is not very subtle, but Volumnia's speech at the end made me cry.
Titus Andronicus: Gruesome. Reminds me of Game of Thrones.
The Life of Timon of Athens: Meh. Nobody needs a reminder to moderate their generosity. Anyway, I blame Flavius.
What I liked
The editorial introduction by Jonathan Bate. Fifty pages of very interesting backstory about Shakespeare's life, the role of the theater in Elizabethan England, theatrical practices, the history of Shakespearean scholarship, and so forth.
Introductory material for each play / poem. The critical essays don't make much sense unless you already know the play, but still.
Exhaustive footnotes. The editors don't let a single bawdy pun or historical reference go by without drawing your attention to it. Truth be told, one could argue there are too many footnotes. It's often more fun to read the text on its own, trying to decipher strange words using context. But it's good to know that the footnotes are there for when you need them.
What I didn't like
The table of contents in the e-book is not very useful. It only links to the beginning of each play. If you want to find Act IV, Scene II, you'll have a lot of page-flipping to do.
April 21, 2023
Cards on the table: I have not finished reading Shakespeare's Complete Works (although I'm working on it)—I'll review those one at a time—I've finished reading the lengthy introduction to the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company)'s version of his Complete Works.
It was extremely interesting (hey, it made me want to read more Shakespeare), well-researched, discussed matters around the circumstances of the writings in a historical context that I was far less familiar with than I would have guessed I had been, and a pleasure to read. And I like their handling of how to edit/amend the texts: they're working from the First Folio rather than the Quartos, using the Quartos only where it seems like there's a printing mistake in the Folio, rather than the other way around which is apparently more common. They understand (as I do—I run a theatre company and write two original scripts a year for them) that plays grow and change and are more collaborative (esp. back then) than people realise. If the Folio text were deemed the Official Version by his collaborators, that's good enough for me.
The plays themselves (I read one, so far, in this version) are copiously footnoted, and in the Kobo version it's so easy to click, then click back. They've also added staging notes for recent productions, if you're curious about how certain moments were handled. I'm not, really.
At a comfortable font size for me ... and I'm working off of the largest Kobo available, about the size of your average hardback book ... this is almost 8,000 pages of material! But the bit I read (the lengthy introduction) only 150 or so.
I'm looking forward to completing my knowledge of Shakespeare's oeuvre. We had a hardback collected Shakespeare in my childhood: I read first his A Midsummer Night's Dream when I was seven, and really enjoyed it. (Fairies are always fun, and Pyramus and Thisbe still holds up). The unfamiliar language didn't really bother me, since so much of whatever I read at that age contained copious amounts of unfamiliar language. As I reach the autumn of my years (I'm 57 1/2), time to finish what I started back in 1972.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
It was extremely interesting (hey, it made me want to read more Shakespeare), well-researched, discussed matters around the circumstances of the writings in a historical context that I was far less familiar with than I would have guessed I had been, and a pleasure to read. And I like their handling of how to edit/amend the texts: they're working from the First Folio rather than the Quartos, using the Quartos only where it seems like there's a printing mistake in the Folio, rather than the other way around which is apparently more common. They understand (as I do—I run a theatre company and write two original scripts a year for them) that plays grow and change and are more collaborative (esp. back then) than people realise. If the Folio text were deemed the Official Version by his collaborators, that's good enough for me.
The plays themselves (I read one, so far, in this version) are copiously footnoted, and in the Kobo version it's so easy to click, then click back. They've also added staging notes for recent productions, if you're curious about how certain moments were handled. I'm not, really.
At a comfortable font size for me ... and I'm working off of the largest Kobo available, about the size of your average hardback book ... this is almost 8,000 pages of material! But the bit I read (the lengthy introduction) only 150 or so.
I'm looking forward to completing my knowledge of Shakespeare's oeuvre. We had a hardback collected Shakespeare in my childhood: I read first his A Midsummer Night's Dream when I was seven, and really enjoyed it. (Fairies are always fun, and Pyramus and Thisbe still holds up). The unfamiliar language didn't really bother me, since so much of whatever I read at that age contained copious amounts of unfamiliar language. As I reach the autumn of my years (I'm 57 1/2), time to finish what I started back in 1972.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
December 18, 2009
All complete works of Shakespeare are not equal. My RSC Shakespeare is my third complete Shakespeare and by far the best I have owned or read.
I originally endured those dreadful Oxford editions for schools that do terrible things to Shakespeare’s text while leaving the plays as unintelligible to young students as the original text. I am strongly of the opinion that students should either be given the latest and greatest that scholars can produce (currently the Royal Shakespeare Company version), or leave it until they are older.
In addition to erudite choices about text, the RSC version uses modern spelling (the letter ‘u’ is not spelled as ‘v’) and meaningful glosses. Each play has what it calls key facts: percent verse, number of lines per character, plot summary and so on. This is where one can verify, for example, that King John is 100% verse, while The Merry Wives of Windsor are 90% prose.
Am I gushing? Maybe, but this tome – and my hardback copy weighs in 2.2 Kg (4.8 lb) – is one of the best value items on my bookshelves.
I originally endured those dreadful Oxford editions for schools that do terrible things to Shakespeare’s text while leaving the plays as unintelligible to young students as the original text. I am strongly of the opinion that students should either be given the latest and greatest that scholars can produce (currently the Royal Shakespeare Company version), or leave it until they are older.
In addition to erudite choices about text, the RSC version uses modern spelling (the letter ‘u’ is not spelled as ‘v’) and meaningful glosses. Each play has what it calls key facts: percent verse, number of lines per character, plot summary and so on. This is where one can verify, for example, that King John is 100% verse, while The Merry Wives of Windsor are 90% prose.
Am I gushing? Maybe, but this tome – and my hardback copy weighs in 2.2 Kg (4.8 lb) – is one of the best value items on my bookshelves.
January 27, 2013
This is perfection! I have read/ seen a few plays before I decided to read through this epic collection and even they didn't prepare me for the complete joy this has given me.
My favourites are mostly tragedies. Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Timon of Athens and my ultimate favourite Julius Caesar. Honourable mentions for Histories are Henry V and Richard III and for Comedies (which were in general my least favourite), The Winter's Tale, Much Ado and the perfection that is A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Shakespeare was an absolute master of the character, an incredible plot creator and a wonderful writer. After reading this, I fail to see how anybody can say that Shakespeare in general is overrated or outdated. It simply isn't. It will always be relevant in the same way as all great literature, the people who are prepared to give it the time and love this incredible piece of writing deserves will always be around.
Thank God for that!
My favourites are mostly tragedies. Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Timon of Athens and my ultimate favourite Julius Caesar. Honourable mentions for Histories are Henry V and Richard III and for Comedies (which were in general my least favourite), The Winter's Tale, Much Ado and the perfection that is A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Shakespeare was an absolute master of the character, an incredible plot creator and a wonderful writer. After reading this, I fail to see how anybody can say that Shakespeare in general is overrated or outdated. It simply isn't. It will always be relevant in the same way as all great literature, the people who are prepared to give it the time and love this incredible piece of writing deserves will always be around.
Thank God for that!
October 22, 2020
Just finished the entire tome, reading introductory materials in January, then doing one play a week with one act per day with a film version over the weekend. It has been an engrossing experience, reading them in the folio order, and quite frankly I have tried to do ot other ways (ie.., chronological) but always found myself bogged down. This was the way to do it, the folio order that is. Finally now in October I just finished the sonnets and the Thomas More excerpt. Along the way, I used the Shakespeare pro app on the ipad to supplement my readings with a concise summa of the play I was about to read.
A brief note on other complete tomes:
I also recommend getting the Pelican tome of Shakespeare's works as those follow the quartos in lieu of the folio, and coupled here with RSC they complement each other well. The Norton, I'm afraid has proven to be too bloated and unwieldy for my taste, but it was the Norton that whetted my appetite to to read Shakespeare's entire oeuvre.
A brief note on other complete tomes:
I also recommend getting the Pelican tome of Shakespeare's works as those follow the quartos in lieu of the folio, and coupled here with RSC they complement each other well. The Norton, I'm afraid has proven to be too bloated and unwieldy for my taste, but it was the Norton that whetted my appetite to to read Shakespeare's entire oeuvre.
Want to Read
September 29, 2007this is going to be an ongoing project. i realized i'm trying to write dramatic works and i've only read two of this guy's plays while in high school. i was watching a movie adaptation of hamelt and realized halfway through that i was expecting to see macbeth because i got the two confused. i don't know shit, so i'm gonna read all of these. thing is, i can't really take reading 1200 pages of this uninterrupted so i'm going to be reading modern short story collections and scattering a couple stories in between the plays. i figure i'll not only get to some of those short story writers i've been meaning to but maybe i'll also start taking note of shakespeare's influence and modern relevance as i do this. we shall see.
July 19, 2011
I absolutely love Shakespeare. It get's such a bad name because children are forced to read it at school, but it is much easier to understand than people might think. And the characters and plots are much better than anything you'd see on a soap opera!
I don't really need to elaborate on any specific plays, because when you approach any Shakespeare play you know to expect a rollercoaster ride of deception, subplots and incredible language. A must read, up there with the bible. Plus this addition is particularly accessible, just don't try to read it all in one go!
I don't really need to elaborate on any specific plays, because when you approach any Shakespeare play you know to expect a rollercoaster ride of deception, subplots and incredible language. A must read, up there with the bible. Plus this addition is particularly accessible, just don't try to read it all in one go!
March 1, 2023
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I read it for a literature class, and found myself liking most of the Shakespeare plays. I had read the sonnets before, but only a handful of plays. Twelfth Night was probably my favorite, and I really liked Viola. But I also found myself understanding why Hamlet is still so popular, and why so many of Shakespeare's work get translated into modern movie adaptations. I am still not the biggest fan of Othello though.
June 20, 2007
This anthology is relatively new and comes highly recommended by the professor of the Shakespeare course I am taking. The clear and concise layout of text alone makes it worth the $60 and Jonathon Bate's introductions to each piece are incredibly insightful and illuminating and make the Bard much more accessible.
March 28, 2017
4Q
Antony & Cleopatra
All's Well That Ends Well
Pericles
Coriolanus
The Winter's Tale
King Lear
Cymbeline
The Tempest
Henry VIII
Two Noble Kinsmen
Sonnets 124-154
Passionate Pilgrim
Sonnets to Sundry Notes
Phoenix and Turtle
Antony & Cleopatra
All's Well That Ends Well
Pericles
Coriolanus
The Winter's Tale
King Lear
Cymbeline
The Tempest
Henry VIII
Two Noble Kinsmen
Sonnets 124-154
Passionate Pilgrim
Sonnets to Sundry Notes
Phoenix and Turtle
February 6, 2026
It seems like a lot of the content needs an understanding of upper-class English society at the start of the 20th century. I found it really had to focus to keep my mind on the book as none of the characters grabbed me, nothing in the story hooked my interest.
December 17, 2007
THIS IS THE ENGLISH BIBLE!
March 8, 2009
Read
The Tempest, 03-15-2009
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 07-12-2009
The Merry Wives of Windsor, 12-20-2009
The Tempest, 03-15-2009
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 07-12-2009
The Merry Wives of Windsor, 12-20-2009
Currently Reading
July 21, 2009for and with adelaide
September 7, 2012
Brilliant edition of the complete Shakespeare.
May 3, 2013
Everything Shakespeare in one (humongous) book. Each work is accompanied by a brief but informative introduction and a reasonable amount of annotation.
read-part
December 31, 2013Read:
As You Like It
Need to Re-Read:
Hamlet
Othello
Taming of the Shrew
Romeo and Juliet
As You Like It
Need to Re-Read:
Hamlet
Othello
Taming of the Shrew
Romeo and Juliet
June 23, 2014
How can I write a review of Shakespeare? Perfection.
September 15, 2016
Enjoyed them but I don't think they are enjoyed most when read but seen on stage.
Read
January 12, 2021Good old Shakespeare. God rest his soul.
December 24, 2021
An excellent edition with good introductions and guides which lets the focus remain Shakespeare’s work and not the work of academics and historians.
February 1, 2022
Re-read Macbeth and some poems. Its a great book, however I miss my original college edition with notes from classes.
Want to Read
May 10, 2022Review copy provided by publisher - May 2022
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