The Spanish Tragedy (Arden Early Modern Drama)

SO glad Arden came out with a copy of the Spanish Tragedie. The Baron's Men, a shakespearean troupe in Austin, TX is performing this play in the fall of 2013 and this release couldn't be more timely, relevant, or useful for the effort.

I am reviewing Arden's edition of  The Spanish Tragedy (Arden Early Modern Drama)  edited by Clara Calvo and Jesus Tronch. They have done a very careful and comprehensive job of separating out the mess around its two editions (1592 and 1602) and the various additions made to the later version, following on from the excellent work of Lukas Erne. Their notes are thorough and careful. The introduction is comprehensive and readable. The two editors stick pretty close to the text, which is probably a good thing. They don't get sidetracked by the big lurking issue, which is exactly what Shakespeare borrowed from the play in Hamlet (it's really hard not to notice the similarities) and why Shakespeare changed what he did. That's for the reader to puzzle over.They take a cautious stance on the 1602 additions, covering the history of how they've been attributed but concluding that there isn't enough evidence to attribute it conclusively to Shakespeare, as several have recently (and not so recently) claimed. Unlike some of the wild attributions to Shakespeare that have been made over the last 30 years, the case here is reasonably plausible, but I respect Calvo and Tronch's hesitation.They point out the Hamlet parallels in the notes but do not indulge in any interpretive leaps, presenting the play as a standalone piece of drama. And if you can forget about Hamlet (probably impossible), it stands alone pretty well. I recommend this edition. The Arden Early Modern Drama series has been inconsistent--some entries like Suzanne Gossett's  Philaster (Arden Early Modern Drama)  have been very good, while others like Leah Marcus's  The Duchess of Malfi (Arden Early Modern Drama)  have been rather poor. This is one of the best in the series and bodes well for the future.

Came on time- included the introductions and previous stage productions. Perfect for English

Ha llegado perfecto.Nada doblado y todo muy cuidado.

Tiene una introducción ocupa gran parte del libro. También trae explicaciones de los autores a la obra como ayuda para su entendimiento.

good fulfilment

As described