King Richard II (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series)

The explanatory notes definitely go very in-depth, but as a graduate student in English it is just what I need. I will certainly be buying from the Arden Shakespeare series again. Highly recommend for those looking for a strong textual apparatus and solid background information. The notes are probably too lengthy for someone wanting a quick-read for class, though.

Oh my. Just saw Richard II at OSF (Sept 2016) and wanted to read it with annotation. In addition to the play itself, Arden provides tons of background and made the experience very rich indeed. The play is annotated to the point of amazement. While in Ashland I picked up a copy of Shakespeare's Kings by Norwich at Bloomsbury Books and between the two volumes I feel like a minor expert, lol. Ok, maybe not. But I certainly have come to fully enjoy and embrace RII for the masterpiece that it is.

Beautiful introductory notes elucidating the history of the house of Plantagenet, the ongoing civil wars and Shakespeare's use of verse and imagery. Good dissection in the footnotes of references, antecedents and sentence structure. A must for actors and directors. Invaluable in enlightening this period of Shakespeare's writing. A great help for actors in detecting the sense of verse, psychology and sentences. Footnotes are admirable in their illumination of the logic of Shakespeare's comparisons and the details and responsibilities of kingship to GOD and country..

It was great. We ordered 17 copies for my entire english class. They were received in about a week, and the book is fantastic. All of the confusing lines are well explained, and the genealogy at the end of the book gives us a better understanding of everything happening in the novel. Its very well made.

Delivered in perfect condition. A good, sturdy edition.

As is typical with Arden editions, this book is intended for readers who already know a lot about Shakespeare’s plays and at least a little about Richard II. The thorough, erudite introduction is written by someone who has spent a long, long time studying this play. Since I lacked the background to follow much of the editor’s material, I studied the play mainly from the Folger edition, which is targeted at an early undergraduate audience, using this Arden edition when I wanted to go deeper. I liked my strategy, but of course I can’t say how I would have fared if I had just committed to the Arden and struggled for a while.

I purchased a used volume of Richard II by Shakespeare. It arrived in good condition and contained a lengthy introduction and many scholar's notes, which helped greatly in interpreting this play. This was a great value -- exceeded my expectations.

Exactly what I expected

I'm happy about it, the book is in good condition and even came covered and with leftover notes cards. Was only a day late, which isn't bothering

-schnelle Lieferung und einwandfreier Zustand Das Produkt hat alle meine Erwartungen erfüllt. Das Buch enthält nützliche und hilfreiche Fußnoten, welches das Lesen und auch das Arbeiten mit dem Text wesentlich erleichtert.

Articolo arrivato in anticipo, perfettamente integro e corrispondente alla descrizione. Grazie

This along with other Ardenstudies was always the go to studies for Shakespeare and still is.

Speaking only from personal experience, this book about Richard II lives up to the excellent reputation that many a book from the Arden collection has come to gain.Specifically this edition is a very rich and varied source of information which helps to gain insight not only in the text and the story, but in a very clear way also paints a good picture of the historical background for this play. Richard II being one of the plays of the 2nd tetralogy (a series of 4 plays that are connected) might not be as famous as the other Richard play, being Richard III to not name the play, but once one starts reading it, one is seduced by the very poetic language which is very beautiful. There are some wonderful monologues - and quite long ones to that - to be found here. The play is all about patriotism, family ties, envy, struggle for power, and starts to raise some questions on the "Divine rights of Kings". Is King Richard a "good" King ? He surely has every right to be the King through sheer law, by which the first son in line inherits the throne. But is he a King who takes into account to upkeep a good relationship with both his nobles at the court and his subjects ? Has he a right to seize the lands of a nobleman he has bansihed, thus braking a promise he made ...? I think this is absolutely a must read. You've got mostly detailed information and explanation of many words in their context at the bottom of each page, and this really helps to understand the bigger picture and the meaning of what is said. I hope I have be able to encourage whomsoever reads this review to dive into the wonderful and rich world of Shakespeare. It takes some effort to get accustomed to the language,but once you're in the swing, it only get's easier ...