NCS: The Sonnets (The New Cambridge Shakespeare)

The New Cambridge Shakespeare series appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations.

For the second edition of The Sonnets, Stephen Orgel has written a new introduction. In his introduction, Orgel probes the sonnets' sexual and temperamental ambiguity, as well as their complex textual history, and explores the difficulties editors face when modernising the spelling, punctuation and layout of the 1609 quarto. Orgel reminds us that the order in which the sonnets were composed bears no relation to the order in which they appear in the quarto and he warns against reading them biographically.

This edition retains the text prepared by G. Blakemore Evans, together with his notes and commentary. The series' focus on up-to-date scholarship and performance-oriented analysis makes it a valuable resource for students worldwide. The line-by-line commentaries and textual notes provide detailed insights into the plays and poems, while the regularly refreshed introductions offer new perspectives on critical, stage and screen interpretations.

In the case of The Sonnets, Orgel's new introduction offers a nuanced exploration of the poems' ambiguities and textual complexities. By cautioning against a biographical reading and highlighting the disconnection between the order of composition and publication, Orgel encourages readers to approach the sonnets with a more open and contextual understanding. The retention of Evans' text and commentary further strengthens the edition's scholarly rigour and provides a solid foundation for students to engage with these beloved and widely read poems.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare's commitment to up-to-date research, performance-oriented analysis, and carefully curated textual resources makes it an invaluable tool for students worldwide seeking to deepen their understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare's works.

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