The Oxford Shakespeare

Richard II
1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-0-19-818642-7
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 312 Seiten, Format (B × H): 143 mm x 223 mm, Gewicht: 506 g

Reihe: The Oxford Shakespeare

The accessible and wide-ranging introduction discusses the historical circumstances surrounding the play, covering the period that it dramatizes - the beginnings of the <"wars of the roses>"- and the period in which it was written - late Elizabethan England - and analyses the play's political significance both in ist own time and in our own
Extensive commentary helps the reader to better appreciate the language, characters, and action
Detailed and careful analysis of textual issues shows how the text was transmitted
Lively illustrations provide a sense of the historical background and helps bring to life the play as it has been performed over the years

Written in 1595, Richard II occupies a significant place in the Shakespeare canon. It marks the transition from the earlier history plays dominated by civil war and stark power to a more nuanced representation of the political conflicts of England's past where character and politics are inextricably intertwined. Deftly combining history with tragedy, ist tale of bad government and usurpation had great political immediacy for ist first audiences in late Elizabethan England and continues to resonate today. This scholarly but student-friendly edition features a freshly edited version of the text based on the early quartos and first Folio of 1623. The thorough set of textual notes and full commentary are designed to aid the modern reader to better understand and appreciate the language, the characters, and the dramatic action. The introduction places the play squarely in ist own time, describing ist topical significance and ist political perspectives, and showing how carefully Shakespeare positioned his play within an ongoing political conversation. Together with this historical perspective, the introduction focuses as well on the play's richly poetic language and ist great success over the centuries as a play for the stage.

Zielgruppe

Students and scholars of Shakespeare

Autoren/Hrsg.

Shakespeare, William

Dawson, Anthony B.

Yachnin, Paul

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literatur: Editionen, Kritische Editionen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Englische Literatur

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations
Introduction
Abbreviations and References
Note on the Text
Richard II
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Dawson, Anthony B.
Anthony Dawson is an editor, theatre historian, and literary critic, who has published widely on Shakespeare and the early modern theatre.

Yachnin, Paul
Paul Yachnin was elected President of the Shakespeare Association of America in April 2008. He directs the Making Publics Project and co-directs the McGill Shakespeare and Performance Research Team. He is the founder of the McGill Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas. His publications include Stage-Wrights and The Culture of Playgoing in Early Modern England (with Anthony Dawson).

Edited by Anthony B. Dawson, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia, and Paul Yachnin, Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies, McGill University

Anthony Dawson is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. An editor, theatre historian, and literary critic, he has published widely on Shakespeare and the early modern theatre.

Paul Yachnin is Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies and Chair of English at McGill University. In April 2008, he was elected President of the Shakespeare Association of America. He directs the Making Publics Project and co-directs the McGill Shakespeare and Performance Research Team. He is the founder of the McGill Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas. He has undertaken editorial projects including the Oxford edition of The Works of Thomas Middleton and The Tempest (Broadview Press, forthcoming; with Brent Whitted). Recent books include Shakespeare and the Eighteenth Century, with Peter Sabor; Shakespeare and Character: Theory, History, Performance, and Theatrical Persons, with Jessica Slights; and Making Publics in Early Modern Europe: People, Things, Forms of Knowledge, with Bronwen Wilson.