The Newly Revised Signet Classic Shakespeare Series The work of the world’s greatest dramatist edited by outstanding scholars

The Winter’s Tale

Unique Features of the Signet Classic Shakespeare
•An extensive overview of Shakespeare’s life, world, and theater by the general editor of the Signet Classic Shakespeare series, Sylvan Barnet
•Special introduction to the play by the

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"Othello" by William Shakespeare is a captivating tale of love, jealousy, and the destructive power of deceit. Set against the backdrop of Venice, this timeless tragedy follows the noble Moorish general Othello as he falls deeply in love with the beautiful Desdemona. However, their happiness is short-lived as the ensign Iago, consumed by jealousy and ambition, begins to manipulate Othello into believing that Desdemona has been unfaithful. What unfolds...

As You Like It (1599) is a comedy by William Shakespeare. As You Like It was probably inspired by Thomas Lodge's Rosalynd, Euphues Golden Legacie (1587), a story based on "The Tale of Gamelyn," a Middle English romance. For its deconstruction of traditional gender roles and depiction of homoeroticism, As You Like It remains an important and frequently performed play in Shakespeare's oeuvre. "All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely...

Although one of his lesser known plays, Shakespeare's considerable abilities as a playwright are readily apparent in "Troilus and Cressida." This historical and tragic 'problem play', thought to be inspired by Chaucer, Homer, and some of Shakespeare's history-recording contemporaries, is initially a tale of a man and woman in love during the Trojan War. When Cressida is given to the Greeks in exchange for a prisoner of war, Troilus is determined to...

Contains the unabridged text of Julius Caesar as published in Volume XV of The Caxton Edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

"Romeo and Juliet", one of William Shakespeare's most iconic tragedies, tells the poignant tale of young love and family conflict. Set in Verona, Italy, the story revolves around the passionate romance between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, members of feuding families. The star-crossed lovers meet at a masquerade ball and quickly fall deeply in love, despite their families' bitter rivalry. Their secret relationship leads to a series of events...

Believed to have been written in 1599, William Shakespeare's "Henry V" forms the final installment of a tetralogy of plays, which includes "Richard II", "Henry IV, Part I", and "Henry IV, Part II". The play focuses on the events surrounding the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War. Henry, who is introduced in the earlier plays as a wild and undisciplined youth, has now come of age and ascended to the thrown following the death of his...

The Oxford Shakespeare brings the modern reader closer to Shakespeare's plays as originally performed than has ever before been possible. Based on eight years of full-time research by a team of distinguished British and American scholars, this monumental volume offers many remarkable innovations, including a new chronological order, revised stage directions, two full versions of King Lear--as originally written and as revised later for performance--and...