Twelfth Night: Third Series (Arden Shakespeare) [Paperback] [2009] (Author) William Shakespeare, Keir Elam

by William Shakespeare

script with notes and historical context

Genres: Plays, Classics

Paperback

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

William 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".

Reviews

[Aaron Bloom]

I read the introductory material and watched the play (at the Globe Theatre in London!) so I think this counts as “read.” The introductory material was interesting and helpful. This is a good edition for those wanting an overview of the play’s history and interpretations. It didn’t go too deeply into anything, and it might have been interesting to include one or two deep, longer interpretive pieces, but this give a good overview.

As for the play, I loved it in performance. The performance I saw highlighted the music and joy of the play, focusing on the play’s rejection of a buttoned up life and embrace of life’s messiness and passion. I’m sure there were more subtle elements I missed, but the energy and ongoing resonance of the performance and of the play shone through.

[Katie]

As always, the Arden does not disappoint! It's fascinating getting to read about the performance traditions of different characters through the centuries (especially when you pair that with actually seeing the play live...)

[David Carlson]

Enjoyed this play a lot. Its comedy and playfulness really comes across in both the plot and the characters.

[J]

I had so much fun reading this! Funny and tragic.

[Sam Gilmartin]

Still my favourite

[Barbara]

shakespeare completely stole this plot from Amanda Bynes’ “she’s the man” but i’ll let it slide