This Broadview Edition provides a discussion of the play’s performance history, and both the introduction and footnotes encourage readers to think about the play as a performance text. The appendices gather a selection of historical sources and contemporary philosophical and political writings from England and Europe, and interleaved pages throughout the play provide illustrations and extended discussion of key phrases, plot points, and allusions. Further historical and performance materials are available on the Internet Shakespeare Editions website.
Rosemary Gaby is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Tasmania, Australia.