William Shakespeare, "Measure for Measure" (The New Cambridge Shakespeare, Updated Edition)
Since the rediscovery of Elizabethan stage conditions early in the twentieth century, admiration for Measure for Measure has steadily risen. It is now a favourite with the critics and has attracted widely different styles of performance. At one extreme, the play is seen as a religious allegory; at the other, it has been interpreted as a comedy protesting against power and privilege.
Brian Gibbons focuses on the unique tragi-comic experience of watching the play, the intensity and excitement offered by its dramatic rhythm, the reversals and surprises which shock the audience even to the end. His introduction considers how the play's critical reception and stage history have varied according to prevailing social, moral and religious issues, which were highly sensitive when
Measure for Measure was written, and have remained so to the present day.
This updated edition contains a new introductory section by Angela Stock, which describes recent stage, film and critical interpretations, and an updated reading list.
About The New Cambridge Shakespeare Series The New Cambridge Shakespeare is an edition of Shakespeare's works, consisting of a separate volume for each play, and a volume each for the Sonnets and the narrative poems. The texts have been prepared by an international team of the very best scholars, who provide in each case a freshly-considered and modernised text, a substantial introduction and commentary at the foot of the page. The series pays particular attention to the play in performance, commenting on the stage action and offering a performance history with illustrations. It is aimed at students of Shakespeare from A level or its equivalent, and onwards, including undergraduates, graduates and teachers.
An international team of scholars offers:
- modernized, easily accessible texts
- ample commentary and introductions
- attention to the theatrical qualities of each play and its stage history
- informative illustrations
Contents
| “ |
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and Conventions
Introduction
Date
Puritanism, political allusion and censorship
The sources and their shaping
Cinthio
Whetstone
Severus
The Phoenix
The Malcontent
The Mode of Tragi-Comedy
Contemporary Allusions
Sejanus
The play
Underworld and Sub-Plots
Carnival and Justice: Word-Play and Self-Defence
Angelo and Isabella: Word-Play and Self-Betrayal
Exchanges
The Question of the Duke
Acting
Playing with Audiences
The Question of Tragi-Comedy
The play on the stage
Recent stage, film and critical interpretations, by Angela Stock
Criticism
Recent Stage and Film Productions
Note on the text
List of characters
Measure for Measure
Textual analysis
The nature of the copy
The Compositors and Casting-Off of Copy
The Scribe
Juliet in 1.2
Possible Toning-Down of Oaths
The Justice in 2.1
The Duke's Speech in 4.1
4.3 And 4.5: Lucio and Varrius
The Time Scheme
Summary: the nature of the copy
Lineation
Verse and Prose
Short Lines
Textual cruces and editors
Reading list |
