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I'm trying to read some Shakespeare plays, but I'm not sure which editions I should get. As far as I can tell the Arden, Oxford and New Cambdrige are supposed to be the three best editions generally. The plays I want to read first are King Lear and Macbeth, and once I'm done with them maybe I'll read more. So far (judging from Amazon previews of the various editions) I'm slightly in favor of the New Cambridge ones, because there's the occasional explanation of a difficult word more than in other editions, where footnotes are mainly for explaining context or variations. Something that would be good to know is which edition makes the least emendations as far as punctuation and spelling is concerned (I guess there won't be much difference between the three editions). What can you guys recommend? Ideally, I would like to read the plays and look up stuff I don't understand directly in the footnotes as opposed to going to a dictionary or the internet for that.
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Apr 6, 2010 12:47
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First of all, thank you very much for your detailed write-up. I think I'm going to go with the Oxford if I can't find a copy of the Cambridge to check out before. The notes in the Oxford seem best and the layout is the most readable. I kinda dread the thought of buying any kind of Norton anthology because I really hate handling the super-thin paper. Also, as you said, the big plus of getting individual editions of the plays is all the secondary materials they include. I didn't know that all of the editions modernize the spelling, by the way. It's not such a big deal to me, though. I guess if someone really needs the original spelling for a scholarly essay or somesuch thing and absolutely has to own a copy the cheapest way to go would be the Norton facsimile of the First Folio (which is still pretty expensive at $100). Or you could just locate the passage you want in your modern edition and then use the act and scene to find that passage in an online edition of the Folio. On a just slightly related note, Such Tweet Sorrow has started today. It's a modern-day Twitter adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. I find it way too confusing to follow, but anyway, the site is http://suchtweetsorrow.com/
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Apr 13, 2010 00:32
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Ron Jeremy posted:This is kind of random, but does anyone have tips on reading with a television on in the room? I'm easily distracted by shiny screens and there's no good place to sit facing away. You're probably more distracted by the sounds, so I'd suggest getting either earplugs or a sound file with white noise or any kind of noise or even ambient sounds for your mp3 player and listening to that. Especially with noise you will feel like you're in a bubble.
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Nov 24, 2012 14:34
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