The Tempest (The Arden Shakespeare Third Series)

William Shakespeare

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408133474 ISBN 13: 9781408133477

Publisher: The Arden Shakespeare, 2011

The Tempest is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, both in the classroom and in the theatre, and this revision brings the Arden 3 edition right up-to-date. A completely new section of the introduction discusses new thinking about Shakespeare's sources for the play and examines his treatment of colonial themes, as well as covering key productions since this edition was first published in 1999. Most importantly it looks at Julie Taymor's ground-breaking 2010 film starring Helen Mirren as "Prospera." Alden and Virginia Vaughan's edition of The Tempest is much valued for its authority and originality and their revision brings it up-to-date, making it even more relevant and useful to students and theatre practitioners.

Review:

'The Tempest is a play that insists on both a dreaminess and its metaphysical significance.' --Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard

'It's often said The Tempest is better read than performed.' --Christopher Hart, Sunday Times

Because the Vaughans are steeped in The Tempest, having both produced separate volumes about the play, their attempts to cram in as much detail as possible into the introduction makes for a very dense read. But refreshingly their work lacks an agenda; probably because they ve worked through their own opinions elsewhere they re more relaxed about simply presenting the arguments of others and letting the reader decide as to their merits, pleasingly giving due prominence to contemporary thinkers like Bate, Wells and Kermode. --Stuart Ian Burns, The Hamlet Weblog

About the Author:

Alden T. Vaughan is an Affiliate Professor at Clark University, USA and a Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, USA. He is co-editor of the Arden Third Series edition of The Tempest. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English dramatist, poet, and actor, generally regarded as the greatest playwright of all time. Virginia Mason Vaughan is Professor Emerita and Research Professor at Clark University, USA. She is a leading international expert on The Tempest, and co-editor of the Arden Third Series edition of the play.