Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
In Henry IV, Part 1, the King is in a doubly ironic position. His rebellion against Richard II was successful, but now he himself is beset by rebels, led by the charismatic Harry Hotspur. The King's son, Prince Hal, seems to be more concerned with the pleasures of the tavern world and the company of the fat rogue, Falstaff, than with concerns of state. Eventually, however, Hal proves a courageous foe of the rebels.
This history play is...
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series, with Henry V as its inaugral volume, presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing endeavours to take account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal.
Henry V is the most famous and influential of Shakespeare's history plays. Its powerful patriotic rhetoric has resounded down the ages, gaining eloquent expression in Laurence...
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal.
The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, but it remains deeply controversial. The text may seem anti-Semitic; yet repeatedly, in performance, it has revealed a contrasting nature. Shylock, though vanquished...
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal.
Romeo and Juliet is the world's most famous drama of tragic young love. Defying the feud which divides their families, Romeo and Juliet enjoy the fleeting rapture of courtship, marriage and sexual fulfilment; but a combination...
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
Richard II is one of Shakespeare's finest works: lucid, eloquent, and boldly structured. It can be seen as a tragedy, or a historical play, or a political drama, or as one part of a vast dramatic cycle which helped to generate England's national identity. Today, to some of us, Richard II may appear conservative; but, in Shakespeare's day, it could appear subversive: 'I am Richard II', declared an indignant Queen Elizabeth.
Numerous recent revivals in the theatre and on screen have demonstrated the enduring power and poignancy of this drama of the downfall of an...
Richard II is one of Shakespeare's finest works: lucid, eloquent, and boldly structured. It can be seen as a tragedy, or a historical play...
Edited, Introduced and Annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The Textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal.
Hamlet is not only one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, but also the most fascinatingly problematical tragedy in world literature.
First performed around 1600, this a gripping and exuberant drama of revenge, rich in contrasts and...
Edited, Introduced and Annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
Edited, Introduced and Annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series, with Henry V and The Merchant of Venice as its inaugral volumes, presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal.
Othello has long been recognised as one of the most powerful of Shakespeare's tragedies. This is an intense drama of love, deception, jealousy...
Edited, Introduced and Annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English, University of Sussex.
Julius Caesar is among the best of Shakespeare's historical and political plays. Dealing with events surrounding the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., the drama vividly illustrates the ways in which power and corruption are linked.
The cry 'Peace, freedom and liberty ' is used to exculpate brutal realities, while personal ambitions taint public actions. Rich in characterisation and replete with eloquent rhetoric, Julius Caesar remains...
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English, University of Sussex.
Edited, Introduced and Annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series, with Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and The Merchant of Venice as its inaugural volumes, presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal.
Its lyricism, comedy (both broad and subtle) and magical transformations have long made A Midsummer Night's Dream one of the...
Edited, Introduced and Annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
Shakespeare's Macbeth is one of the greatest tragic dramas the world has known. Macbeth himself, a brave warrior, is fatally impelled by supernatural forces, by his proud wife, and by his own burgeoning ambition. As he embarks on his murderous course to gain and retain the crown of Scotland, we see the appalling emotional and psychological effects on both Lady Macbeth and himself. The cruel ironies of their destiny are conveyed in poetry of unsurpassed...
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.
