Titus Andronicus (The New Cambridge Shakespeare)

by WilliamShakespeare (Author), Alan Hughes (Editor)

• Used

  Paperback
  1994

  $3.25

  Titus Andronicus is still regarded by many as a bad play of dubious authorship. Its adversaries have abhorred its apparently gratuitous violence and uneven verse. Since 1945, however, the play has increasingly been taken seriously in both the theatre and the study: the violence and cruelty it depicts were disconcertingly matched by the events of two world wars. Alan Hughes joins those critics who take the play seriously, arguing for its unity of theme and tone and its grim humour; this is the work of a brilliant stage craftsman, confident in his handling of space, movement, and verse. The critical account of the play's fortunes is integrated within a description of major modern productions. In addition Professor Hughes supplies a complete stage history and an appendix which explores how the play might have been performed at the Rose playhouse in London, which has recently been excavated.

• New

  Paperback
  2006

  $13.90

  The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. For this second edition of Titus Andronicus Sue Hall-Smith has written a new section on recent scholarship and important contemporary performances of the play. The edition retains the text prepared by Alan Hughes, based on the first quarto and supplemented by crucial additions and stage directions from the Folio. In the introduction, Hughes contradicts the historically popular view that Titus Andronicus is a poor play of dubious authorship. Joining the growing ranks of critics who take the play seriously, Hughes applauds its thematic unity and grim humour, and demonstrates that it is the work of a brilliant stage craftsman, confident in his mastery of space, movement and verse.