The Oxford Shakespeare
General Editor: Stanley Wells
The Oxford Shakespeare offer authoritative texts from leading scholars in editions designed to interpret and illuminate the plays for modern readers

- a new, modern-spelling text, collated and edited from the early texts
- wide-ranging introduction discusses the play's historical contexts, political significance, characters, sources, and language
- detailed stage history designed to meet the needs of students and theatre professionals
- on-page commentary and notes explain meaning, allusions, staging, and much else
- illustrated with production photographs, historical portraits, textual facsimiles, and map
- full index to introduction and commentary
- durable sewn binding for lasting use

'not simply a better text but a new conception of Shakespeare' Times Literary Supplement

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Features

• The last major play in the Oxford Shakespeare series, Richard II features a freshly edited version of the text based on the early quartos and first Folio of 1623, with thorough accompanying material for readers, students, and performers.
• Wide-ranging introduction describes the play's historical circumstances, both the period that it dramatizes (the start of the 'wars of the roses') and the period in which it was written (late Elizabethan England), and the play's political significance in its own time and our own. It also focuses on the play's richly poetic language and its success over the centuries as a play for the stage.
• Extensive explanatory notes help readers at all levels understand and appreciate the language, characters, and dramatic action.
• Careful analysis of textual issues for those interested in the transmission of the text.
• Lively illustrations provide a sense of the historical background and performance history.