The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [antikvár]

PREFACE Within the pages of this book are contained some of the most beautiful words ever written in the English language; within the pages of this book are contained some of the greatest plays ever written in any language. This volume of work has become part of our heritage and, translated into all the tongues of the world, has become for each nationalityj'for each culture, part of their heritage, too; a cornerstone of literature and drama. For William Shakespeare's writings, like the music of Bach or the paintings of Leonardo, have transcended the pettiness of time and place and have become part of those eternal things that speak to all men at all times. Shakespeare is the universal dramatist. More has been written about Shakespeare than he ever wrote himself. From schoolboys to dons, from scholars to scientists, the volume of critical analysis grows and grows. Shakespeare has attracted the most intricate theories ranging from arguments over authorship to the best kind of scholastic research. Bowdler censored the plays; other writers have taken the themes and modernised them; Americans have made musicals of them while Italians, of course, have made operas; pedants have tried to turn them into dull, intellectual excercises and schoolmasters have given the learning of these great lines as punishment. But Shakespeare has withstood all that has been written about him and all that has been done to him for the simple reason that he wrote for the theatre. Each time actors re-create his plays in front of-an audience he becomes a living dramatist again. The performance generates the excitement of the drama and the words become instruments of the actor's art and the dramatist's will. One cannot help feeling that Shakespeare would be astonished at the mystique that now surrounds his work. Consider him: an actor-writer working in a theatrical company for his daily bread; rehearsing, performing, travelling and having to write the plays sometimes to a tormenting deadline. Perhaps he would rush to rehearsal, not quite happy with the last act, and hear the first reading of the play. The actors would voice their comments, telling him that certain lines were impossible to speak or that such and such a scene could not possibly work in performance. And one has the picture of him listening patiently, correcting where necessary and then waiting for that moment when the play was ready for the audience, when the lines would be spoken and heard, when that first ripple of laughter might float across to the stage or a gasp might greet some stunning dramatic offect. This was the vital experience of the contact between player and playgoer. It is in the theatre that, I hope, you will first be introduced to a play by William Shakespeare. It is in the theatre that, I hope, you will first sense the eternal quality ofthe master's work. It is in the theatre that, I hope, you will first experience the life of the plays.