“Why, then the world’s mine oyster.”
—The Merry Wives of Windsor
 
Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen provide a fresh new edition of this popular comedy of love, laughter, and merriment—along with more than a hundred pages of exclusive features, including
 
• an original Introduction to The Merry Wives of Windsor
• incisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital facts about the work
• commentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designers
• photographs of key RSC productions
• an overview of Shakespeare’s theatrical career and chronology of his plays
 
Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first century.

New Shakespeare, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary.

Praise for William Shakespeare: Complete Works

“Remarkable . . . makes Shakespeare’s extraordinary accomplishment more vivid than ever.”—James Shapiro, professor, Columbia University, bestselling author of A Year in the Life of Shakespeare: 1599
 
“A feast of literary and historical information.”—The Wall Street Journal