The classic one-volume Shakespeare, including all the plays and poems, now completely revised and updated. The distinguished Pelican Shakespeare series has sold five million copies. Now Penguin is proud to offer this fully revised new hardcover edition of The Complete Pelican Shakespeare. Since the series debuted more than forty years ago, developments in scholarship have revolutionized our understanding of William Shakespeare, his time, and his works. With new editors who have incorporated the most up-to-date research and debate, this revised edition of The Complete Pelican Shakespeare will be the premier choice for students, professors, and general readers for decades to come. The general editors of the series-world-renowned Shakespeareans Stephen Orgel of Stanford University and A. R. Braunmuller of UCLA - devoted seven years to preparing introductions and notes with a team of eminent scholars to the forty volumes of Shakespeare's plays and poems. Now, the new series is complete and available in one lavish and complete edition. * *Authoritative and meticulously researched texts *Illuminating new introductions and notes by distinguished authors *Essays on Shakespeare's life, the theatrical world of his time, and the selection of texts *A handsome new design inside and out * Deluxe packaging, including a full-linen case, ribbon marker, Smyth-sewn binding, printed endpapers, acid-free paper, and illustrations throughout *Photos and drawings reflecting Shakespeare's theatrical legacy *Line numbers marking every tenth line and footnote references *Both glossorial and explanatory notes appearing conveniently at the foot of the page

As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility.As You Like It follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques who speaks many of Shakespeare's most famous speeches (such as "All the world's a stage", "too much of a good thing" and "A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest"). Jaques provides a sharp contrast to the other characters in the play, always observing and disputing the hardships of life in the country.

This book is a study of As You Like It , which shows how the play represents issues of interest to literate playgoers of its time, as well as speculatively to Shakespeare himself.