The First Quarto of King Richard III

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title The First Quarto of King Richard III
Authors and Contributors      By (author) William Shakespeare
Edited by Peter Davison
SeriesThe New Cambridge Shakespeare: The Early Quartos
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:208
Dimensions(mm): Height 229,Width 152
Category/GenreShakespeare plays
ISBN/Barcode 9780521042079
ClassificationsDewey:822.33
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations 4 Tables, unspecified

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 24 September 2007
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Shakespeare's Richard III presents difficult textual problems. There are 2,000 verbal differences between the text of the first quarto (1597) and the version in the First Folio (1623). Although the narrative of the two plays is virtually identical, each has lines which are not found in the other, parts of the play are arranged differently, and the quarto deploys fewer characters. The text of the quarto is accompanied by a collation of variant readings and substantial textual notes. In a lengthy introduction Peter Davison proposes that Shakespeare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, used a memorially reconstructed text of Richard III during a touring performance of the play, and that text provided the manuscript for the 1597 quarto. Using examples of touring practice of the past 400 years, Davison shows how the actors' involvement helped to produce the text we have.

Reviews

'Peter Davison's edition of Richard III's first quarto is outstanding and important; it is brightly committed, packed with fresh data, and even amusing ... I think this edition, especially for its close, exact data on acting tours, will regard anyone concerned with the Tudor stage ... Altogether this is an exuberant, scholarly, usually compelling, and ground-breaking edition of one of the most intriguing of the Spakespeare quartos.' Notes and Queries