The New Oxford Shakespeare edition of The Comedy of Errors provides a friendly yet authoritative introduction to Shakespeare's beloved comedy.'How many fond fools serve mad jealousy!'The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare's most farcical plays, with not one but two sets of twins sliding past each other into mistakes, violence, and madness. An early romantic comedy, it's often considered an immature play but also a piece of dramatic experimentation. This New Oxford Shakespeare edition examines links between Shakespeare's play and its literary sources and analogues, but also situates it within performance traditions. Illuminating points of comparison between The Comedy of Errors and Shakespeare's other comedies, as well as it's consonances with Shakespeare's later plays of estrangement and loss, this edition provides readers with a nuanced exploration of Shakespeare's shortest play.The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare's works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare's work.

FeaturesProvides a rich historical and editorial context for the play, showing points of contact between The Comedy of Errors and its literary sources and analogues, both classical and contemporaryReappraises the play as a piece of dramaturgical experimentation, situating it not just alongside direct written sources but within the performance traditions of Shakespeare's timePays sustained attention to the play's dramaturgical demands on its performers, and to its sympathetic demands upon its spectators, drawing on two productions staged in 2012Combines fresh, new scholarship from leading researchers with authoritative texts and comprehensive notes in order to offer readers a complete guide to ShakespeareUses the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare: Modern Critical Edition collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's workPresented in modern spelling and punctuation with accessible critical appartus to best aid understanding of the plays and poemsABOUT THE SERIESFor over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range 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, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.