In 1593 Shakespeare awoke and found himself famous. Lines from his comic, erotic, tragic poem Venus and Adonis were on everyone's lips.The appearance in 1594 of the darkly reflective and richly descriptive Rape of Lucrece confirmed his fame as 'Sweet Master Shakespeare', Elizabethan England's most brilliant non-dramatic poet. Shorter poems in this volume testify further to Shakespeare's versatility and to his poetic fame. Some, like the much-debated 'Phoenix and Turtle', pose problems of meaning; others raise questions about authorship and authenticity. Detailed annotation and a full Introduction seek to resolve such difficulties while also locating Shakespeare's poems in their literary context, which includes his own career as a playwright.

The Arden edition of Shakespeare's poetry, introduced by a leading Shakespeare scholar and including detailed annotation of these non-dramatic works

About the Author
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English dramatist, poet, and actor, generally regarded as the greatest playwright of all time. Henry Woudhuysen is Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, UK. Katherine Duncan-Jones was Professor of Early Modern English at Somerville College, University of Oxford, UK. Publications include Shakespeare's Sonnets (The Arden Shakespeare, 1997) and the critically acclaimed biography Shakespeare: An Ungentle Life (The Arden Shakespeare, 2010).

Reviews
'Shakespeare scholars will be indebted to the editors not only for fine textual and editorial work but also for a number of astute interpretations.' Project Muse (2009)



Book Information
ISBN 9781903436875
Author William Shakespeare
Format Paperback
Page Count 616
Imprint The Arden Shakespeare
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 668g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 30mm