Complete Works of Shakespeare
Encyclopedia
Complete Works of William Shakespeare is the standard name given to any volume containing all the plays
and poems of William Shakespeare
. Some editions include several works which were not completely of Shakespeare's authorship (collaborative writings), such as The Two Noble Kinsmen
, a collaboration with John Fletcher
, as well as Pericles, Prince of Tyre
and/or Edward III.
In their 2006–2007 season the Royal Shakespeare Company
committed to the performance of the Complete Works in a single year. In 1987 Adrian Hilton
acquired a Guinness World Record for reciting the Complete Works non-stop, enduring 5 days without sleep.
releases, primarily from Ivy league
schools, as well as versions released from larger (and often prestigious) publishing companies. The Complete Works (especially in older editions) is often sought after by book collectors, and a number of binderies and publishing houses have produced leather bound and gilded releases for luxury book collecting
.
Both mainstream and academic publishing companies have released multiple editions and versions of their own collections of Shakespeare's work, often updated periodically. Multiple editors contribute to the processes of laying out the Complete Works, and many times either the main editor, publishing company, or university's name is included in the title. (For instance, the Complete Works published by the Arden
company is often referred to as the Arden Shakespeare, and the edition produced by Yale University
called the Yale Shakespeare.)
Shakespeare's plays
William Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. Traditionally, the 37 plays are divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being...
and poems of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Some editions include several works which were not completely of Shakespeare's authorship (collaborative writings), such as The Two Noble Kinsmen
The Two Noble Kinsmen
The Two Noble Kinsmen is a Jacobean tragicomedy, first published in 1634 and attributed to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. Its plot derives from "The Knight's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales....
, a collaboration with John Fletcher
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
, as well as Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio...
and/or Edward III.
In their 2006–2007 season the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
committed to the performance of the Complete Works in a single year. In 1987 Adrian Hilton
Adrian Hilton
Adrian Hilton is an English Conservative politician who gained media attention during the 2005 general election.Hilton was acting assistant principal and faculty head at Slough Grammar School...
acquired a Guinness World Record for reciting the Complete Works non-stop, enduring 5 days without sleep.
Selected editions
The various editions of the Complete Works include a number of university pressUniversity press
A university press is an academic, nonprofit publishing house that is typically affiliated with a large research university, and publishes work that has been reviewed by scholars in the field. It produces mainly scholarly works...
releases, primarily from Ivy league
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
schools, as well as versions released from larger (and often prestigious) publishing companies. The Complete Works (especially in older editions) is often sought after by book collectors, and a number of binderies and publishing houses have produced leather bound and gilded releases for luxury book collecting
Book collecting
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given individual collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and collect...
.
Both mainstream and academic publishing companies have released multiple editions and versions of their own collections of Shakespeare's work, often updated periodically. Multiple editors contribute to the processes of laying out the Complete Works, and many times either the main editor, publishing company, or university's name is included in the title. (For instance, the Complete Works published by the Arden
Arden
- Europe :*Arden Municipality, Denmark, a former municipality, including the Town of Arden*Arden, Warwickshire, England*Arden, Argyll and Bute, Scotland*Arden, Dunbartonshire, Scotland*Arden, Glasgow, Scotland- United States :* Arden, Arkansas...
company is often referred to as the Arden Shakespeare, and the edition produced by Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
called the Yale Shakespeare.)
Publisher editions
- ArdenArden ShakespeareThe Arden Shakespeare is a long-running series of scholarly editions of the works of William Shakespeare. It presents fully edited modern-spelling editions of the plays and poems, with lengthy introductions and full commentaries...
- The Complete Works (Arden Shakespeare), The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works ("Arden ShakespeareArden ShakespeareThe Arden Shakespeare is a long-running series of scholarly editions of the works of William Shakespeare. It presents fully edited modern-spelling editions of the plays and poems, with lengthy introductions and full commentaries...
") - Black Dog & Leventhal - William Shakespeare: The Complete Works (4 vol.)
- CRW Publishing Ltd. - The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
- GramercyRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
- William Shakespeare: The Complete Works, William Shakespeare: The Complete Works [Deluxe Edition], The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare: Complete Works, The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare: The Complete Works Annotated - HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: The Alexander Text, Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Ed. 1-4) - LongmanLongmanLongman was a publishing company founded in London, England in 1724. It is now an imprint of Pearson Education.-Beginnings:The Longman company was founded by Thomas Longman , the son of Ezekiel Longman , a gentleman of Bristol. Thomas was apprenticed in 1716 to John Osborn, a London bookseller, and...
- The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Ed. 1-6) - Modern LibraryModern LibraryThe Modern Library is a publishing company. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, it was purchased in 1925 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer...
- William Shakespeare: Complete Works - Palgrave MacmillanPalgrave MacmillanPalgrave Macmillan is an international academic and trade publishing company, headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom and with offices in New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong, Delhi, Johannesburg. It was created in 2000 when St...
- The RSC Shakespeare: The Complete Works - Penguin BooksPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
- World of Shakespeare: The Complete Plays and Sonnets of William Shakespeare (38 Volume Library) (38 vol.)- Penguin Classics - The Complete Pelican Shakespeare
- RiversideRiverside PublishingRiverside Publishing Company is a leading publisher of clinical and educational standardized tests in the United States, headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois...
- The Riverside Shakespeare (Ed. 1-2) ("Riverside ShakespeareRiverside ShakespeareThe Riverside Shakespeare is a long-running series of editions of the complete works of William Shakespeare published by the Houghton Mifflin company.The first Riverside Shakespeare was edited by Richard Grant White and published in 1883 and 1901....
") - Wordswoth Editions Ltd. - The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Special/Royals], The Complete Works of Shakespeare [Children's Classics], Complete Works of William Shakespeare (3 vol.)
Academic editions
- "Cambridge Shakespeare" (Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, Doubleday, Garden City, Houghton MifflinHoughton MifflinHoughton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
, Octopus BooksHachette Livre-France:*Calmann-Lévy*Deux Coqs d'Or*Disney Hachette Edition*EDICEF*Editions 1*Editions du Chêne**E.P.A*Éditions Dunod*Editions Foucher*Editions Stock*Fayard**Editions Mille et Une Nuits**Editions Mazarine**Pauvert*Gautier-Languereau*Grasset...
, RH Value) - "The Oxford ShakespeareThe Oxford ShakespeareThe Oxford Shakespeare is a common term for the range of editions of William Shakespeare's works produced by Oxford University Press. The Oxford Shakespeare is produced under the general editorship of Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor.-The Complete Works:...
" - "Yale Shakespeare"
See also
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)The Complete Works of William Shakespeare is a parody of the plays written by William Shakespeare with all of them being performed during the show by only three actors. Typically, the actors use their real names and play themselves rather than certain characters...
, a slapstick speeded-up version by the Reduced Shakespeare CompanyReduced Shakespeare CompanyThe Reduced Shakespeare Company is an American acting troupe that writes and performs unsubtle, fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of huge topics.- Overview :...
(1987), cramming all the familiar bits into a single performance. - List of works by William Shakespeare
External links
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare - plain vanilla text at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
. - Forum with Complete Works of William Shakespeare translates to local language (tr.google)