Äåòàëüíàÿ èíôîðìàöèÿ îá èçäàíèè

Illustrations have been an important element of many of the most extensively read editions of Shakespeares plays, from the frontispieces to Nicholas Rowes 1709 edition to the multiple images placed within the text of Victorian editions. Through symbols the illustrations have explored language and character; by allusion to earlier paintings they have offered critical readings; and by gesture, setting and costume they have redesigned the plays within the visual vocabulary of their own times. In all these ways they offer important exchanges with contemporary social, aesthetic and critical concerns, and, despite being largely ignored by scholars, are central to the plays reception. Highly illustrated, including many images not previously reproduced, the book allows the reader to share the experience of early readers of the plays. Building on the authors earlier work in Painting Shakespeare it offers a fresh address to the tradition of visual criticism and assimilation of Shakespeares plays. A complete study of the history and tradition of illustrated editions of Shakespeare, containing 167 illustrative images from major editions.