Timon of Athens: The Oxford Shakespeare

by William Shakespeare, Thomas Middleton, John Jowett

Overview

Timon of Athens is a bitterly intriguing study of a fabulously rich man who wastes his wealth on his friends, and, when he is finally impoverished, learns to despise humanity with a hatred that drives him to his grave. The play's plot structure is schematically clear, and the poetry of Timon's rage is arresting in its savage intensity. Yet readers have often detected loose ends, and the tone of writing is uneven. In his introduction, John Jowett explains how these characteristics arise because the play was written as a collaboration between Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton. This edition pays full justice to Middleton's presence, explaining how his contribution gave the play its distinctive edge. Readers need to read this play as a dialogue between writers of different temperaments, and this edition is the first to make such a reading possible.

The introduction provides the fullest account of the play's performance history available. The commentary is the most detailed ever to have been published. Appendices include source materials and a listing of major productions worldwide.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198129387
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/20/2004
Series:	The ^AOxford Shakespeare
Pages:	380
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 5.70(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Anthony B. Dawson is Professor of English Emeritus at the University of British Columbia.

Gretchen E. Minton is an Assistant Professor of English at Montana State University in Bozeman. She specializes in Shakespeare and his contemporaries as well as the literature of the English Reformation and has published articles on Augustine, Erasmus, John Foxe, John Bale, and Shakespeare, as well as contemporary film and drama.

Date of Death:

2018

Place of Birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Place of Death:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Table of Contents

Introduction
Editorial Procedures
The Life of Timon of Athens
Appendix A - Lineation Notes
Appendix B - Narrative Source Materials
Appendix C - Middleton Forms Table
Appendix D - Major Productions