I listened to an audio version and good bits are some of the language and although not good representations the wider world is integral to some characters and dialogue.

Overall though not for me. Glad to have got through it all but not in a rush to do it again.

tAs famous as the great poet is, I believe that his works are rarely read and recognized too little. The Complete Works of Shakespeare is as the title says, all the works of Shakespeare. This, in my sense, let me understand better about his writing. Two important things that William Shakespeare efficiently accomplished were the superb plots and fitting the outline of the iambic pentameter. One thing that most successful writers have are good plotlines. This talent isn’t something anyone can acquire. Also, I have learned that the iambic pentameter type poem is very hard to make, having a specific pattern to a specific number of syllables. For an ordinary person, it might have taken their lifetime to write about five stories, in which Shakespeare wrote around 37 plays. This needs a remarkable amount of effort and energy, and that is why I believe that more people should acknowledge his works more.

Please note, this is a review of this particular edition of the "Complete Works of William Shakespeare" from 1923. For reviews of various individual plays by Shakespeare, please see my shelves. **

This edition was published by "The Literary Press, London" on fine paper, to traditional standards, with each section sewn into the spine rather than glued. The top edge of the volume is gilt-edged. It has a soft cover with a burgundy leatherette finish, and gold lettering, plus a gold embossed design of the Shakespeare Coat of Arms.

Not many people know that William Shakespeare received a Coat of Arms from the English Government, to signify that he and his family were now a part of the upper class. Unfortunately, since he did not have a son to carry on the honour, the Coat of Arms was not carried on through the family name. Here is a copy of the Shakespeare Coat of Arms:



The motto is in medieval French: "Non sanz droict" translating to English as, "Not without right".

This volume is clearly intended to be a useful compact volume of Shakespeare's complete works. It is subtitled, Containing the Plays and Poems with special Introductory matter, Index of Characters & Glossary of unfamiliar terms. It can be held in one hand, and is comfortable to handle, considering it that it contains so many works. The frontispiece shows an engraving of "The Stratford Shakespeare":



The print, as one would expect, is quite small, but comparatively clear. The "special introductory matter" mentioned, consists of an introduction by St. John Greer Ervine, the Irish writer and critic, and an essay entitled "Shakepeare and Bacon" by the great Victorian English actor, Henry Irving.

There are also just a few double spread colour plates on glossy paper. These are all by classical painters such as the Pre-Raphaelites William Holman Hunt, and Sir John Everett Millais, and the animal artist Sir Edwin Landseer. There is also a painting by Daniel Maclise, a portrait painter and popular illustrator to Dickens's works, and one by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, who specialised in classical subjects, particularly of the luxury and decadence of the Roman Empire. Since there are only eight of them, they are sadly not very noticeable in a volume of over 1000 pages, but they are attractive to come across in context:



A Scene from "Twelfth Night" ('Malvolio and the Countess') - Daniel Maclise



A Scene from "Midsummer Nights Dream" ('Titania and Bottom')- Sir Edwin Landseer



A Scene from "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" ('Valentine Rescuing Sylvia from Proteus')- W. Holman Hunt

This must have been quite an attractive volume originally. It is still a nice one to have, as it presents all the works in a way which is quick to refer to. It is nicer than an average modern "Complete Shakespeare" volume, and easier to use too. It has some history, but is still not my first choice for ease of reading each individual play. However, it was my first introduction to Shakespeare, as I found it in a church jumble sale for a few pennies when I was a child. I remember the occasion well, being convinced I had found a very important work - a real bargain! It therefore has some sentimental value for me personally. I seem to remember there was a yellow-gold silken ribbon bookmark attached at the top ... but it must have got detached and lost over the years.

As today is 23rd April 2016, and the quatercentenary, (400 years) of Shakespeare's death, it seemed a good time to have a look at my oldest book by him, even though it is not yet quite a hundred years old.

**I have not read all the works in this volume. However, if you would like to read my review of a particular play by William Shakespeare, please see my shelves for these.

I binge-read Shakespeare as research for my novel Shakespeare's Twin Sister. And this edition was particularly good for that.

Rereading Shakespeare is like playing a piece of music. The pleasure grows as you learn it, until you can watch it in your mind without looking at the words, like you can play the music without looking at the score and then can hear the music without playing it.

Henry VI, Part I[return]Henry VI, Part II[return]Henry VI, Part III[return]Richard III[return]Comedy of Errors[return]Titus Andronicus[return]Taming of the Shrew[return]Two Gentlemen of Verona[return]Love's Labour's Lost[return]Romeo and Juliet[return]Richard II[return]A Midsummer Night's Dream[return]King John[return]The Merchant of Venice[return]Henry IV, Part I[return]Henry IV, Part II[return]Henry V[return]Julius Caesar[return]Much Ado About Nothing[return]As You Like It[return]Merry Wives of Windsor[return]Hamlet[return]Twelfth Night[return]Troilus and Cressida[return]All's Well That Ends Well[return]Measure for Measure[return]Othello[return]King Lear[return]Macbeth[return]Antony and Cleopatra[return]Coriolanus[return]Timon of Athens[return]Pericles[return]Cymbeline[return]The Winter's Tale[return]The Tempest[return]Henry VIII[return]The Two Noble Kinsmen[return]Edward III[return]Sir Thomas More (fragment)

Procession of Characters from Shakespeare's Plays

"The sole substitute for an experience which we have not ourselves lived through is art and literature." ~Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The quote above is precisely the reason I enjoy art and literature. I always love when a story takes me on a time traveling trip back to the past like the ones in this book.

After reading it for some months, I'm now more than halfway done with the plays in it. It's been so far so good. I enjoy walking down the memory lane reading them again.

My review here will be about my experience reading Shakespeare's works all these years as well as what I think about this book as a whole by comparing it with the previous edition. Yes, this will be an ongoing review which I'll edit along the way till I'm done reading everything.

So far, my rating hasn't changed yet but we shall see.







Picture credit: Wikipedia.

FINALYYYYYYYYY IT S BEEN 84 YEARS

This year's goal is to attempt to read all of Shakespeare's work

COMEDIES
All's Well That Ends Well 27/1/22
As You Like It 22/2/22
The Comedy of Errors
Cymbeline 1/3/22
Love's Labours Lost
Measure for Measure
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night's Dream 18/1/22
Much Ado About Nothing
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
Troilus and Cressida
Twelfth Night 5/1/22
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale

HISTORIES
Henry IV, part 1
Henry IV, part 2
Henry V
Henry VI, part 1
Henry VI, part 2
Henry VI, part 3
Henry VIII
King John
Richard II
Richard III

TRAGEDIES
Antony and Cleopatra 22/2/22
Coriolanus 23/2/22-28/2/22
Hamlet 4/3/22- 5/3/22
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus

THE COMPLETE POEMS
154 Sonnets
A Lover's Complaint 26/1/22
The Rape of Lucrece
Venus and Adonis
A Funeral Elegy 28/1/22

I had read sixteen of Shakespeare's plays up to this point, but I finished the rest this month.

Well, this guy is generally considered pretty good.

https://goodticklebrain.com/home/2020...

One of the ten best books I've ever read.