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The acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series edited by A. R. Braunmuller and Stephen Orgel The legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare’s time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-read editions incorporate over thirty years of Shakespeare scholarship undertaken since the original series, edited by Alfred Harbage, appeared between 1956 and 1967. With definitive texts and illuminating essays, the Pelican Shakespeare will remain a valued resource for students, teachers, and theater professionals for many years to come. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The central conflict involves the speaker's internal struggle with time, mortality, and the complexities of romantic devotion. The protagonist navigates a series of intense emotional states, addressing a mysterious 'Fair Youth' and a 'Dark Lady' who challenge his perceptions of beauty and fidelity. The narrative framework consists of 154 individual poems, primarily written in the Shakespearean sonnet form, which imposes a strict logical structure of three quatrains followed by a concluding couplet. These poems function as a sequence that explores the tension between idealized love and the harsh realities of human imperfection.
Discussion often centers on the biographical ambiguity surrounding the subjects of the sonnets and the poet's intent. Readers frequently highlight the technical precision of the verse and the way the sequence evolves from themes of procreation to darker reflections on betrayal. Critics often note the shift in tone that occurs midway through the collection, which provides a stark contrast to traditional love poetry of the era. The work remains a primary subject of academic study due to its influence on the development of the English sonnet form and its enduring psychological depth.
Page Count:
206
Publication Date:
1985-11-28
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191900923
ISBN-13:
9780191900921
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