thoritative First Folio of William Shakespeare's Complete Works, edited by acclaimed Shakespearean scholars and endorsed by the world-famous Royal Shakespeare Company

Skillfully assembled by Shakespeare's fellow actors in 1623, the First Folio was the original Complete Works--arguably the most important literary work in the English language. But starting with Nicholas Rowe in 1709 and continuing to the present day, Shakespeare editors have mixed Folio and Quarto texts, gradually corrupting the original Complete Works with errors and conflated textual variations.

The second edition of the Complete Works features annotations and commentary from Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen--two of today's preeminent Shakespeare scholars--as well as cutting-edge textual design, on-page glossaries for contemporary readers, stage directions from RSC directors, a sixteen-page insert of photographs from RSC production shorts, a timeline of the plays and poems, and family trees for the Histories.

Combining innovative scholarship with brilliant commentary and textual analysis that emphasizes performance history and values, this landmark edition is indispensable to students, theater professionals, and general readers alike.