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William Shakespeare : The Complete Works
William Shakespeare : The Complete Works (New Compact Edition) by Stanley Ed. Wells and Gary Ed. Taylor. Clarendon Press,1988 (
Unknown Binding
About the author
William Shakespeare
18k books48.5k 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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August 25, 2021
Blame It On West Side Story…
It was nearly the ending of summer, and I was then still eleven. Was playing basketball with my brother and friends. Came into the house for a cold drink and a snack.
Heard my sister and her friends making happy sounds.
Decided I should investigate. They were watching a movie called “West Side Story.”
I heard lots of fun music, saw lots of fun dancing. Although covered in dirt and smelly with sweat, decided to invite myself in and squeezed between two people.
Heard about a song called Maria, Jet Song, Tonight, America, Gee, Officer Krupke, I Feel Pretty and others.
There was the beautiful Maria (who, strangely enough, didn’t look Puerto Rican). There was a gorgeous man named Bernardo. My tomboy days were over.
Dear mother noticed my happy obsession and told me about two young teenagers named Romeo and Juliet. A play written by William Shakespeare. Two kids in love with love 💕.
I devoured the book (in between countless views of West Side Story), repeatedly. Time to move on to more Shakespeare.
I fell in love with Macbeth and Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice. Henry V and Henry IV, Parts I and II.
Sonnets and more sonnets, more dramas, more histories and more comedies. With a multitude of clever quotations, I am definitely still in Shakespeare heaven.
Now, if you are reading this review and want to read this book, I will tell you that it is definitely worth the money. Lots of books are claiming to have his complete collection, but they always have something lacking.
This is very organized and put together very well. The table of contents list EVERYTHING!
There’s a section on the plays that are disputed as not written by Shakespeare. A chapter on his life and times. A chapter on his descendants (there aren’t any). A chapter on his rewriting of famous plays from other countries.
There is a good biography on him, and loads of research material. Anything you want is probably right in here.
Thanks for stopping by my way to read this review. I hope that you have enjoyed your view. I know that you will definitely enjoy this book. $1.99 on Amazon and iBook.
Fabulous five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was nearly the ending of summer, and I was then still eleven. Was playing basketball with my brother and friends. Came into the house for a cold drink and a snack.
Heard my sister and her friends making happy sounds.
Decided I should investigate. They were watching a movie called “West Side Story.”
I heard lots of fun music, saw lots of fun dancing. Although covered in dirt and smelly with sweat, decided to invite myself in and squeezed between two people.
Heard about a song called Maria, Jet Song, Tonight, America, Gee, Officer Krupke, I Feel Pretty and others.
There was the beautiful Maria (who, strangely enough, didn’t look Puerto Rican). There was a gorgeous man named Bernardo. My tomboy days were over.
Dear mother noticed my happy obsession and told me about two young teenagers named Romeo and Juliet. A play written by William Shakespeare. Two kids in love with love 💕.
I devoured the book (in between countless views of West Side Story), repeatedly. Time to move on to more Shakespeare.
I fell in love with Macbeth and Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice. Henry V and Henry IV, Parts I and II.
Sonnets and more sonnets, more dramas, more histories and more comedies. With a multitude of clever quotations, I am definitely still in Shakespeare heaven.
Now, if you are reading this review and want to read this book, I will tell you that it is definitely worth the money. Lots of books are claiming to have his complete collection, but they always have something lacking.
This is very organized and put together very well. The table of contents list EVERYTHING!
There’s a section on the plays that are disputed as not written by Shakespeare. A chapter on his life and times. A chapter on his descendants (there aren’t any). A chapter on his rewriting of famous plays from other countries.
There is a good biography on him, and loads of research material. Anything you want is probably right in here.
Thanks for stopping by my way to read this review. I hope that you have enjoyed your view. I know that you will definitely enjoy this book. $1.99 on Amazon and iBook.
Fabulous five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
March 28, 2026
Though I'm familiar with everything here from many years of piecemeal involvement--a class taken here, a syllabus designed there, play-going, film read-alongs, and so on--this is the first time I'd read it all straight through in purported compositional order in a reasonably short time period (~90 days).
The positive effect and value of this sort of project is impossible to overstate. It's just one of the best experiences that we have available. This text, the Oxford 2nd Edition, has its particular editorial theory/textual criticism ideas, which highlight the texts as oriented toward performance.
Out of the many cool things that might be said overall, I'll note three:
a) Reading chronologically makes manifest the moments where certain problems are considered from different angles. For instance, MND and R&J were composed at roughly the same time, and both feature an asshole father who demands that his adolescent daughter marry someone whom he wants rather than whom his daughter wants, on pain of death. Alternative comic and tragic considerations of the idea make for an interesting study. We see, as another example, the temporal overlap of AYL and Hamlet in considering the problem of fratricidal conflict over sovereignty. Having a comic and tragic consideration of the same idea offers a prismatic interpretation of the issue.
b) Even though certain ideas are brought into diffuse focus through alternative consideration in the same period time, some ideas persist across the whole chronology, and thus go through evolution. We see in TGV, for instance, a horrible moment when Silvia is almost raped by Proteus, but then this is ignored in the joyous resolution because Silvia is given no lines to create a Hegelian impasse. The text can thus remain as technical comedy even if we can detect an inchoate tragedy. The theme of silence-preventing-tragedy recurs in TOS, wherein Bianca is silenced when Katerina delivers her I-Love-Big-Brother speech. The modalities and saliences of silence will be a common theme in the early plays--especially with sovereign silence in Henry VI. But this idea still remains even at the end, in TNK, which re-enacts the homosocial conveyance of heterosexual objects from one competitor to the other in order to restore their amity--the silence of the objects is varied by letting them speak in soliloquy, but not allowing them to be heard. Similarly, the problem of inferring interior intentions from exterior signs is present throughout the texts--whether jealousy, love, loyalty, and so on.
c) the abundance of meta-theatrical moments: anytime someone uses a disguise, anytime someone wants to fake out another with a staged scene, anytime someone prioritizes appearance--these are miniature studies of theater, but also an indication of how theater escaped the institution of the playhouse and established itself through other practices and policies--or perhaps causality went the other way, whereby practices distilled themselves into the playhouse: determining the arche is not necessary.
There is of course so much more going--my updates below note some of the cool things.
This is totally recency bias, but my new favorite line in the oeuvre is from Theseus' last speech in TNK: 'The gods my justice / Take from my hand and they themselves become / The executioners." Beyond atheism, beyond awesome.
The positive effect and value of this sort of project is impossible to overstate. It's just one of the best experiences that we have available. This text, the Oxford 2nd Edition, has its particular editorial theory/textual criticism ideas, which highlight the texts as oriented toward performance.
Out of the many cool things that might be said overall, I'll note three:
a) Reading chronologically makes manifest the moments where certain problems are considered from different angles. For instance, MND and R&J were composed at roughly the same time, and both feature an asshole father who demands that his adolescent daughter marry someone whom he wants rather than whom his daughter wants, on pain of death. Alternative comic and tragic considerations of the idea make for an interesting study. We see, as another example, the temporal overlap of AYL and Hamlet in considering the problem of fratricidal conflict over sovereignty. Having a comic and tragic consideration of the same idea offers a prismatic interpretation of the issue.
b) Even though certain ideas are brought into diffuse focus through alternative consideration in the same period time, some ideas persist across the whole chronology, and thus go through evolution. We see in TGV, for instance, a horrible moment when Silvia is almost raped by Proteus, but then this is ignored in the joyous resolution because Silvia is given no lines to create a Hegelian impasse. The text can thus remain as technical comedy even if we can detect an inchoate tragedy. The theme of silence-preventing-tragedy recurs in TOS, wherein Bianca is silenced when Katerina delivers her I-Love-Big-Brother speech. The modalities and saliences of silence will be a common theme in the early plays--especially with sovereign silence in Henry VI. But this idea still remains even at the end, in TNK, which re-enacts the homosocial conveyance of heterosexual objects from one competitor to the other in order to restore their amity--the silence of the objects is varied by letting them speak in soliloquy, but not allowing them to be heard. Similarly, the problem of inferring interior intentions from exterior signs is present throughout the texts--whether jealousy, love, loyalty, and so on.
c) the abundance of meta-theatrical moments: anytime someone uses a disguise, anytime someone wants to fake out another with a staged scene, anytime someone prioritizes appearance--these are miniature studies of theater, but also an indication of how theater escaped the institution of the playhouse and established itself through other practices and policies--or perhaps causality went the other way, whereby practices distilled themselves into the playhouse: determining the arche is not necessary.
There is of course so much more going--my updates below note some of the cool things.
This is totally recency bias, but my new favorite line in the oeuvre is from Theseus' last speech in TNK: 'The gods my justice / Take from my hand and they themselves become / The executioners." Beyond atheism, beyond awesome.
July 4, 2021
1. All’s Well that Ends Well: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2. The Tragedy of Antony & Cleopatra: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3. As You Like It: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4. The Comedy of Errors: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
5. The Tragedy of Coriolanus: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
6. Cymbeline: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
7. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
8. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
9. The History of King Henry IV, Part 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
10. The History of King Henry IV, Part 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
11. The History of King Henry IV, Part 3: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
12. The History of King Henry V: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
13. The History of King Henry VI, Part 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
14. The History of King Henry VI, Part 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
15. The History of King Henry VIII: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
16. The History of King John: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
17. The Tragedy of King Lear: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
18. The History of King Richard II: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
19. The History of King Richard III: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
20. Love’s Labour's Lost: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
21. Macbeth: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
22. Measure for Measure: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
23. The Merchant of Venice: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
24. The Merry Wives of Windsor: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
25. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
26. Much Ado About Nothing: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
27. The Tragedy of Othello, Moor of Venice: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
28. Pericles, Prince of Tyre: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
29. The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
30. The Taming of the Shew: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
31. The Tempest: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
32. The Life of Timon of Athens: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
33. The Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
34: The History of Troilus & Cressida: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
35. Twelfth Night; or, What You Will: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
36. The Two Gentlemen of Verona: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
37. The Two Noble Kinsmen: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
38. The Winter’s Tale: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
39. The Sonnets: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
40. A Lover’s Complaint: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
41. The Passionate Pilgrim: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
42. The Phoenix & the Turtle: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
43. The Rape of Lucrece: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
44. Venus & Adonis: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Overall content: sexual things, swearing.
2. The Tragedy of Antony & Cleopatra: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3. As You Like It: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4. The Comedy of Errors: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
5. The Tragedy of Coriolanus: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
6. Cymbeline: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
7. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
8. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
9. The History of King Henry IV, Part 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
10. The History of King Henry IV, Part 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
11. The History of King Henry IV, Part 3: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
12. The History of King Henry V: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
13. The History of King Henry VI, Part 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
14. The History of King Henry VI, Part 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
15. The History of King Henry VIII: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
16. The History of King John: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
17. The Tragedy of King Lear: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
18. The History of King Richard II: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
19. The History of King Richard III: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
20. Love’s Labour's Lost: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
21. Macbeth: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
22. Measure for Measure: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
23. The Merchant of Venice: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
24. The Merry Wives of Windsor: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
25. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
26. Much Ado About Nothing: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
27. The Tragedy of Othello, Moor of Venice: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
28. Pericles, Prince of Tyre: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
29. The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
30. The Taming of the Shew: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
31. The Tempest: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
32. The Life of Timon of Athens: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
33. The Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
34: The History of Troilus & Cressida: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
35. Twelfth Night; or, What You Will: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
36. The Two Gentlemen of Verona: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
37. The Two Noble Kinsmen: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
38. The Winter’s Tale: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
39. The Sonnets: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
40. A Lover’s Complaint: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
41. The Passionate Pilgrim: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
42. The Phoenix & the Turtle: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
43. The Rape of Lucrece: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
44. Venus & Adonis: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Overall content: sexual things, swearing.
November 21, 2018
Through the soaring heights of the incredible Henriad to the stinking depths of the godawful Titus Andronicus, thirty-nine plays worth of whore-son caterpillars, bacon-fed knaves, and several hundred references to cuckold's horns, I enjoyed the vast majority of them and am now glad to have inflicted this masochistic completionist's challenge upon myself some twenty odd months ago.
Most of the plays were read from a six volume Complete Shakespeare edition edited by David Bevington with fantastic footnotes at the bottom of each page. Others were from various publishers but Bevington's notes, in my opinion, were by far the best.
Listing my individual ratings here from greatest to Andronicus, interested to see how this order may change over time while watching the BBC stage productions and any other adaptations featuring the fanciest of pant(aloon)s.
Julius Caesar ★★★★★
Macbeth ★★★★★
Henry IV (Part 1) ★★★★★
Antony and Cleopatra ★★★★★
Richard III ★★★★★
Coriolanus ★★★★★
Hamlet ★★★★★
Henry V ★★★★☆
Henry IV (Part 2) ★★★★☆
Richard II ★★★★☆
Henry VI (Part 3) ★★★★☆
Henry VI (Part 2) ★★★★☆
Henry VI (Part 1) ★★★★☆
King Lear ★★★★☆
A Midsummer Night’s Dream ★★★★☆
Twelfth Night ★★★★☆
Romeo and Juliet ★★★☆☆
As You Like It ★★★☆☆
Much Ado About Nothing ★★★☆☆
The Tempest ★★★☆☆
Love’s Labour’s Lost ★★★☆☆
Othello ★★★☆☆
The Merchant of Venice ★★★☆☆
Troilus and Cressida ★★★☆☆
The Taming of the Shrew ★★★☆☆
The Winter’s Tale ★★★☆☆
All’s Well That Ends Well ★★★☆☆
Measure for Measure ★★★☆☆
Cymbeline ★★★☆☆
Timon of Athens ★★☆☆☆
The Comedy of Errors ★★☆☆☆
The Two Gentlemen of Verona ★★☆☆☆
The Merry Wives of Windsor ★★☆☆☆
The Two Noble Kinsmen ★★☆☆☆
Henry VIII ★★☆☆☆
King John ★★☆☆☆
King Edward III ★★☆☆☆
Pericles ★★☆☆☆
Titus Andronicus ★☆☆☆☆
Some of them quite possibly would have received a higher rating if they had been penned and published by a different author: I was at times rating Shakespeare against Shakespeare. But then the plays which actually were written mostly by someone else (Fletcher, Middleton, S̶i̶r̶ ̶F̶r̶a̶n̶c̶i̶s̶ ̶B̶a̶c̶o̶n̶ various mystery men) were always worse off because of it.
Also enjoyed his narrative poems but found the sonnets to be a bit tedious. That may of course be due to having read all of them over a period of only 3 days. No doubt would've been better to have read one or two sonnets per day over the course of several months thereby torturing myself much more slowly.
Most of the plays were read from a six volume Complete Shakespeare edition edited by David Bevington with fantastic footnotes at the bottom of each page. Others were from various publishers but Bevington's notes, in my opinion, were by far the best.
Listing my individual ratings here from greatest to Andronicus, interested to see how this order may change over time while watching the BBC stage productions and any other adaptations featuring the fanciest of pant(aloon)s.
Julius Caesar ★★★★★
Macbeth ★★★★★
Henry IV (Part 1) ★★★★★
Antony and Cleopatra ★★★★★
Richard III ★★★★★
Coriolanus ★★★★★
Hamlet ★★★★★
Henry V ★★★★☆
Henry IV (Part 2) ★★★★☆
Richard II ★★★★☆
Henry VI (Part 3) ★★★★☆
Henry VI (Part 2) ★★★★☆
Henry VI (Part 1) ★★★★☆
King Lear ★★★★☆
A Midsummer Night’s Dream ★★★★☆
Twelfth Night ★★★★☆
Romeo and Juliet ★★★☆☆
As You Like It ★★★☆☆
Much Ado About Nothing ★★★☆☆
The Tempest ★★★☆☆
Love’s Labour’s Lost ★★★☆☆
Othello ★★★☆☆
The Merchant of Venice ★★★☆☆
Troilus and Cressida ★★★☆☆
The Taming of the Shrew ★★★☆☆
The Winter’s Tale ★★★☆☆
All’s Well That Ends Well ★★★☆☆
Measure for Measure ★★★☆☆
Cymbeline ★★★☆☆
Timon of Athens ★★☆☆☆
The Comedy of Errors ★★☆☆☆
The Two Gentlemen of Verona ★★☆☆☆
The Merry Wives of Windsor ★★☆☆☆
The Two Noble Kinsmen ★★☆☆☆
Henry VIII ★★☆☆☆
King John ★★☆☆☆
King Edward III ★★☆☆☆
Pericles ★★☆☆☆
Titus Andronicus ★☆☆☆☆
Some of them quite possibly would have received a higher rating if they had been penned and published by a different author: I was at times rating Shakespeare against Shakespeare. But then the plays which actually were written mostly by someone else (Fletcher, Middleton, S̶i̶r̶ ̶F̶r̶a̶n̶c̶i̶s̶ ̶B̶a̶c̶o̶n̶ various mystery men) were always worse off because of it.
Also enjoyed his narrative poems but found the sonnets to be a bit tedious. That may of course be due to having read all of them over a period of only 3 days. No doubt would've been better to have read one or two sonnets per day over the course of several months thereby torturing myself much more slowly.
January 21, 2016
My go-to edition for acting and directing, and indeed for simple enjoying or the occasional browse-through for whatever reason (what was the name of that character in--? how exactly did that line go--?).
I've had it so long I didn't realize it ever had a dust cover (the picture here was startling!). They call this the "compact edition," but it is perfectly readable. For working production scripts, I do make somewhat enlarged copies.
I've had it so long I didn't realize it ever had a dust cover (the picture here was startling!). They call this the "compact edition," but it is perfectly readable. For working production scripts, I do make somewhat enlarged copies.
July 21, 2020
Yesterday I finished Shakespeare's 'Love's Labour's Lost' a wonderful romantic farce I dare say! It just proves that youth cannot swear off love by making a pack to stick only to their studies without mishap and mayhem abounding! Not going into the particulars but I enjoyed it very much. Reading his plays aloud gives great enjoyment. So far I've read 10 of his plays so I have read about 26% of his extant plays.
Currently Reading
January 20, 2010Muddling through
Currently Reading
August 17, 2011kind of boring, the writer is obviously a white male and therefore i found this boring because i am prefer politically corrected. it had some ok stuff in some parts but it is too boring and ultimately i couldn't get into it. i would instead the harry potters if you want good writing. also in some part it wasn't clear if he is an atheist or not, so i prefer Hitchens, who KNOWS. some of this is old in his career and kind of redundant becuae kings and queens over again. And despite the ringing endorsements when some people who call him 'life changing' it is not worth picking up. also i think it was phallo-centric and racist and that the writer is pretendious. if i could give it a zero i would it is just not worth it and i have read a lot of buks.
February 17, 2023
After reading the entirety of Shakespeare's works, two things are true for me: 1) these are best experienced as they were intended--on a stage with actors that understand their craft and put their own stamp on the words, 2) the works that are commonly known are known for a reason. Oh sure, there's a few standouts in the group that don't get much credit, and some truly amazing lines in terrible plays, but the average reader won't find too much in the way of undiscovered gems. That said, Shakespeare deserves the credit heaped upon his name for his command of the language and his turn of phrase. I find that none of my zeal for his greatest works is diminished after encountering some of his less-praiseworthy efforts, and the total of his collected works adds to an unmatched sum.
July 31, 2011
This is an excellent collection that should be at the center of anyone's bookshelf. Bevington is the authority on all things Shakespeare, and in this very hefty volume he has compiled a tremendous amount of research and articles that form excellent new historicist and critical companions to the texts. His editorial decisions that also make up these editions of all of the major plays are concise and well thought out, paying attention to all possible editions. The Lear is heartfelt and encompassing of the many editions and endins that exist. A wonderful book, this is well worth the investment, even for an older edition.
June 19, 2017
Outstanding work. The plays and sonnets themselves are excellent-by the master. The plays and sonnets are presented in chronological order. For each play, the editors have written an historical context and the source of inspiration for Shakespeare. The editors also present alternative verses and indicate which other writer with whom Shakespeare collaborated. They also indicate which works or parts of works that Shakespeare may not have written. An outstanding work by the editors.
June 5, 2025
i finished it. 4 months of lugging this brick of a book around the uk with me on my study abroad. i have now read every play, every narrative poem, every sonnet. there were a few misses in there to be sure (cough cough pericles cough cough) but the greatest hits are hits for a reason.
this was such an undertaking but you know what? i did it. i completed my goal of reading this entire thing during my exchange semester and i did it with time to spare. anything is possible
this was such an undertaking but you know what? i did it. i completed my goal of reading this entire thing during my exchange semester and i did it with time to spare. anything is possible
July 1, 2011
I have the third edition of this, published in 1980. Bevington does an amazing job of bringing in resources to illustrate the times. I can only imagine the 6th edition is that much better. He's easy to follow, with excellent introductions to individual plays, as well as having the material grouped for better overall grasp.
August 5, 2017
As far as I'm aware, it's all here in a decently easy-to-read multi-column format not unlike what you would see in other textbooks (yes, I consider this a textbook because of its print format and dimensions). If I HAD to complain about anything, it would be the size of the text, but even that's such a minor gripe I don't see a reason to knock a star off.
February 17, 2011
Whether or not you believe that one man named William Shakespeare wrote these plays, it cannot be denied that they are greatly enjoyable on their own and have influenced countless other works of art throughout the ages.
January 3, 2012
I'm going to try to read as many works of William Shakespeare as I can. Since this is The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, I will put this version on my "box-sets or collections" shelf, and will be reviewing and rating each individual book as I finish them.
March 30, 2008
I was on this "classics" thing when I lived abroad. I loved reading them without the pressure of being graded or tested on them. I could just enjoy them on their own.
July 31, 2008
My dad gave me this book as a gift when I was in high school. You gotta love Shakespeare.
November 30, 2008
Awesome edition of Shakespeare. Great footnotes, great introductions. Good for general reading or scholarly work. Highly recommended.
May 14, 2009
What the hell.
April 9, 2012
No favorite book shelf can be complete without the Bard!
May 8, 2012
The high water mark of (early) modern English, yet unsurpassed, the closest thing we have to even approaching von Goethe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2012
Neverending reading - Vorrei riprenderlo in mano pi� spesso
January 14, 2013
I'm cheating--I only read about half the plays for a grad class!
January 13, 2014
I got nothin' to say that ain't been said over an over fer th last few hunnert years. I reckon I liked summuvum, an dint care fer the otheruns.
April 12, 2016
One of the three books (in addition to the Holy Bible NKJV) that every literate household should own and study.
December 1, 2016
Excellent compilation. This is my go to version for all of Shakespeare's dramas and verse.
May 20, 2018
Love Shakespeare but this book was for an exam so doesn't fill me with love for his work. However a great compilation of his complete works
Want to Read
July 19, 2020elibrary
January 11, 2023
Don't buy kinfle version
Reproduction of book makes pages very hatd to read. No interactive table of content makes it difficult to navigate. Not a good kindle read.
Reproduction of book makes pages very hatd to read. No interactive table of content makes it difficult to navigate. Not a good kindle read.
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