New Kittredge Shakespeare Collection (25 vols.)
The New Kittredge Shakespeare series was a finalist in the New York Book Show.
Overview
Nearly 400 years after his death, William Shakespeare is still widely regarded as the one of the greatest English writers. His 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and other poems are some of the most influential literary works. His works survive in every major living language, and his plays are performed and adapted more than any other playwright’s. He wrote comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances, many of which are represented here in the New Kittredge Shakespeare Collection.
George Lyman Kittredge’s insightful Shakespeare editions have endured because of his eclecticism, his diversity of interests, and his wide-ranging accomplishments—all of which are reflected in the valuable notes in each volume. The plays in the New Kittredge Shakespeare series retain their original Kittredge notes and introductions, changed or augmented only when some modernization seems necessary. These new editions also include introductory essays by contemporary editors, notes on the plays as they have been performed on stage and film, and additional study materials.
The New Kittredge Shakespeare Collection is appropriate for all levels of coursework in a variety of subjects, including English, theater, Shakespeare studies, Renaissance literature, and film.
- 25 of Shakespeare’s world-famous plays in their complete Kittredge editions
- Extensive notes on contemporary and historical performances and adaptations of each play
- Kittredge’s original full glossary of peculiar and ambiguous phrases and terms
- A comprehensive timeline of major historical events with details from Shakespeare’s life
- Topics for discussion and a further study section
Even as the New Kittredge Shakespeare series glances back to George Lyman Kittredge’s student editions of the plays, it is very much of our current moment: The slim editions are targeted largely at high school and first-year college students who are more versed in visual than in print culture . . . There is no disputing the pedagogic usefulness of the New Kittredge Shakespeare’s performance-oriented approach . . . The volume is determined to eradicate any confusion that a first-time reader of the play might experience . . .
—Studies in English Literature, Tudor and Stuart Drama
It is good to have Kittredge’s editions—with his notes updated by respected scholars, new introductions, and suggestions on approaching the plays in performance—readily and inexpensively available.
—James L. Harner, professor of English, Texas A&M University
- Title: New Kittredge Shakespeare Collection
- Series: New Kittredge Shakespeare Series
- Series Editor: James H. Lake
- Publisher: Focus Publishing
- Volumes: 25
- Pages: 3,684
Partially includedWilliam Shakespeare (1564–1616) remains one of the most (if not, the single most) influential English writers. His works exist in every major world language and are still incredibly popular in theater, film, and literature. Some of his major works include Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet. Over the last 400 years, but especially the last 200, his works have been reproduced countless times.
About George Lyman Kittredge
George Lyman Kittredge (1860–1941) was one of the most notable literary critics of the early twentieth century. After graduating at the top of his class at Harvard and receiving multiple Bowdoin prizes for his essays and translations, he eventually became an instructor there in 1888. His writings and teachings on Shakespeare, Chaucer, and American folklore helped establish the credibility of English as an academic pursuit. Kittredge, a celebrated professor and scholar, is remembered for his remarkable literary scholarship, wit, and tremendous influence in academia. His other major works include Observations on the Language of Chaucer’s Toilus, Professor Child, Chaucer and Some of His Friends, Chaucer and His Poetry, A Study of Gawain and the Green Knight, and Witchcraft in Old and New England.
About James Lake
James H. Lake received his PhD from the University of Delaware and is a professor of English at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He has also been appointed to the faculty of the Greco Institute. He has served as director of the LSUS Joys of Learning Humanities Seminars for the Elderly, director of the university’s honors program and director of the LSUS Master of Arts in Liberal Arts program. He has served on numerous boards, including the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the board of directors of the Noel Foundation, and the editorial board of Shakespeare and the Classroom. He has widely published on Shakespeare and film and edited the Focus on Performance edition of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus.
Reviews
1 rating
Ken Maynard
4/10/2015
I was looking forward to this version, but I am very disappointed with the links. How is it helpful to have hyperlinks from the notes to the text, but no indication at all even of the existence of notes in the text? This is definitely not up to Logos standards, and I suspect the development was farmed out to someone else.
