The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 8.0735.  Saturday, 5 July 1997.

[1]     From:   Mike Field <
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        Date:   Thursday, 3 Jul 1997 09:14:19 -0400
        Subj:   Riverside

[2]     From:   Tad Davis <
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        Date:   Thursday, 03 Jul 1997 09:49:29 -0400
        Subj:   Re: SHK 8.0733  Qs: Riverside Shakespeare


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Mike Field <
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Date:           Thursday, 3 Jul 1997 09:14:19 -0400
Subject:        Riverside

I am glad someone brought up the issue of the Riverside Shakespeare,
which I recently received as a 40th birthday gift. I sat down with the
book in eager anticipation, rifled through the index and then turned to
the introduction.  What I found were two or three pages of erratum then
a page beginning with the Latin numeral II and an opening sentence that
begins something like "What is know about his life is..."

Confused, I began to wonder if I am missing part I-I'm still wondering,
in fact. I thought to go by the college book store and look at their
copy, but apparently it's been purchased. No other bookstore I've been
to has one in stock. Am I in possession of a misbound volume, or is the
new Riverside particularly awkward, ungainly and ill-designed?

[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Tad Davis <
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Date:           Thursday, 03 Jul 1997 09:49:29 -0400
Subject: 8.0733  Qs: Riverside Shakespeare
Comment:        Re: SHK 8.0733  Qs: Riverside Shakespeare

John McWilliams asked about the new Riverside, and said the new Norton
edition looks "tempting." I'm an amateur, not a professional scholar, so
my criteria may differ. For my purposes, the Norton edition is just
about perfect: the notes are clear, concise, and well-arranged, and the
general introduction is a goldmine of useful information. The text is
that of the Oxford Shakespeare, but with some student-oriented changes:
Oldcastle has gone back to being Falstaff, the editorial changes to
stage directions are marked with brackets, the Quarto passages in
"Hamlet" are added back (indented, and in a different typeface), and
THREE versions of Lear are offered: the Quarto and Folio versions on
facing pages followed by a new conflated version, all with the same set
of notes. It is not a place to go for a discussion of "Pollacks" vs.
"pole-axe," but for a handy, readable, one-volume edition, I think it's
a wonderful piece of work.

Tad Davis                   voice 215-898-7864

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