John Dover Wilson's New Shakespeare, published between 1921 and 1966, became the classic Cambridge edition of Shakespeare's plays and poems until the 1980s. The series, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work is available both individually and as a set, and each contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary printed at the back. The edition, which began with The Tempest and ended with The Sonnets, put into practice the techniques and theories that had evolved under the 'New Bibliography'. Remarkably by today's standards, although it took the best part of half a century to produce, the New Shakespeare involved only a small band of editors besides Dover Wilson himself. As the volumes took shape, many of Dover Wilson's textual methods acquired general acceptance and became an established part of later editorial practice, for example in the Arden and New Cambridge Shakespeares.
I have a love-hate relationship with Shakespeare. Shakespeare is a genius who wrote about timeless themes that exist in the modern world and his writing is amazing, but the unveiling of his stories are extremely dramatic and overdone (I get that this a play, but still...) and his 16th century language is a HUGE barrier.
I'm a fan of simple writing that seeps into my skin. If I read something that involves 16th century language or has the purple-prose, I have to be in the mood to read it. Unfortunately, I had to read Othello for my school exams and I wasn't in the mood to read and understand poetic language that went over my head.
With that in mind, here's a list of what I loved and loathed:
LOVED ♦ The tragedy. ♦ The themes of racism, jealousy, pride, honour and the downfall of a hero. ♦ The manipulation and lies. ♦ Delving into the psyche' of people. ♦ Iago, one of the most evil and manipulative villains I have ever read about!
LOATHED ♦ The coincidences. Especially the ones involving the handkerchief ♦ The fact that everything could have been solved if people just communicated! ♦ The lack of connection between this book and I. ♦ The characters inability to notice a villain in their midst. ♦ Language being used as a barrier. ♦ My book edition's cover.
