Review (PDF) The Norton Shakespeare: Based On The Oxford Edition, 2nd Edition
Upon publication in 1997, The Norton Shakespeare set a new standard for teaching editions of Shakespeare's complete works. Instructors and students worldwide welcomed the fresh scholarship, lively and accessible introductions, helpful marginal glosses and notes, readable single-column format, all designed in support of the goal of the Oxford text: to bring the modern reader closer than before possible to Shakespeare's plays as they were first acted. Now, under Stephen Greenblatt's direction, the editors have considered afresh each introduction and all of the apparatus to make the Second Edition an even better teaching tool.
Hardcover: 3419 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 2nd edition (February 25, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393929914
ISBN-13: 978-0393929911
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.2 x 9.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.9 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #76,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #19 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Dramas & Plays > Anthologies #61 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British & Irish > Literature #80 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British & Irish > Poetry
I'd rather give this 4.5 stars, but I can't. As another reviewer said, one wants to not like this volume. It's expensive and there are some annoying things about it--for example, the paper is soooo thin you can practically read the recto on the verso--but it is all-around the edition I turn to most often. The Riverside (I'd judge it to be the other most commonly used anthology) is absolutely ungainly. Its paper is certainly better, but the thing is absolutely huge. Looks great on the shelf, but horrible to carry with you to class. I also dislike the Riverside's two column layout and system of notation, which puts notes and glosses at the bottom of the page without indicators in the text. The Norton puts glosses in the margin, which I find infinitely less disturbing and more likely to be helpful, and it numbers footnotes. It also uses a single-column layout, which I find much easier to read and allows a smaller paper size (same size as all the other Nortons out there, same Bible paper too) without a smaller font size. The introductions to the individual plays have been farmed out to some of the best in the biz, so it's not just Greenblatt's book. For what it's worth, his job on the introductory material in this volume matches the quality of what you expect from one of the leading figures in the field. What's more, the scholarly material is very readable and generally helpful. Yes, the take of that material is definitely influenced by new historicism and cultural materialism, but anything compiled in the last 20 years is likely to be similarly influenced. There is also some good theater history help here and some good old facts. If you have problems with the Oxford edition, then you'll have problems with this one. If you don't, then it should be fine.
The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition, 2nd Edition The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition: Essential Plays / The Sonnets (Second Edition) Merchant of Venice (2010 edition): Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) Much Ado About Nothing (2010 edition): Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) Romeo and Juliet: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) Hamlet: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) The Oxford Shakespeare: Othello: The Moor of Venice (The Oxford Shakespeare) King Lear: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) Antony and Cleopatra: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) The Winter's Tale: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) The Taming of the Shrew: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) Henry IV Part 1: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) Midsummer Night's Dream: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) Macbeth: Oxford School Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Series) Shakespeare and Modern Popular Culture (Oxford Shakespeare Topics) Shakespeare's Reading (Oxford Shakespeare Topics) Shakespeare and Women (Oxford Shakespeare Topics) Complete Sonnets and Poems: The Oxford Shakespeare The Complete Sonnets and Poems (Oxford World's Classics) Twelfth Night, or What You Will: The Oxford Shakespeare Twelfth Night, or What You Will (Oxford World's Classics) The Oxford Shakespeare: Julius Caesar (Oxford World's Classics)
