{"product_id":"some-account-of-the-life-of-mr-william-shakespear-1709-gb-16275","title":"Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespear (1709)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSome Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespear (1709)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Rowe-Tonson edition of Shakespeare's plays (1709) is an important\r\nevent in the history of both Shakespeare studies and English literary\r\ncriticism. Though based substantially on the Fourth Folio (1685), it is\r\nthe first, \"edited\" edition: Rowe modernized spelling and punctuation\r\nand quietly made a number of sensible emendations. It is the first\r\nedition to include dramatis personae, the first to attempt a\r\nsystematic division of all the plays into acts and scenes, and the first\r\nto give to scenes their distinct locations. It is the first of many\r\nillustrated editions. It is the first to abandon the clumsy folio format\r\nand to attempt to bring the plays within reach of the understanding and\r\nthe pocketbooks of the average reader. Finally, it is the first to\r\ninclude an extended life and critique of the author.\nShakespeare scholars from Pope to the present have not been kind to Rowe\r\neither as editor or as critic; but all eighteenth-century editors\r\naccepted many of his emendations, and the biographical material that he\r\nand Betterton assembled remained the basis of all accounts of the\r\ndramatist until the scepticism and scholarship of Steevens and Malone\r\nproved most of it to be merely dubious tradition. Johnson, indeed, spoke\r\ngenerously of the edition. In the Life of Rowe he said that as an\r\neditor Howe \"has done more than he promised; and that, without the pomp\r\nof notes or the boast of criticism, many passages are happily restored.\"\r\nThe preface, in his opinion, \"cannot be said to discover much profundity\r\nor penetration.\" But he acknowledged Rowe's influence on Shakespeare's\r\nreputation. In our own century, more justice has been done Rowe, at\r\nleast as an editor.[1]\nThe years 1709-14 were of great importance in the growth of\r\nShakespeare's reputation. As we shall see, the plays as well as the\r\npoems, both authentic and spurious, were frequently printed and bought.\r\nWith the passing of the seventeenth-century folios and the occasional\r\nquartos of acting versions of single plays, Shakespeare could find a\r\nplace in libraries and could be intimately known by hundreds who had\r\nhitherto known him only in the theater. Tonson's business acumen made\r\nShakespeare available to the general reader in the reign of Anne; Rowe's\r\neditorial, biographical, and critical work helped to make him\r\ncomprehensible within the framework of contemporary taste.\n\u003cb\u003e ......Buy Now (To Read More)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eProduct details\u003ch3\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEbook Number\u003c\/b\u003e: 16275 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor\u003c\/b\u003e: Rowe, Nicholas \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRelease Date\u003c\/b\u003e: Jul 12, 2005 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat\u003c\/b\u003e: eBook \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage\u003c\/b\u003e: English \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Rowe, Nicholas,1674-1718 \/ eBook \/ English","offer_id":43217335058589,"sku":"gb-16275-ebook","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/products\/16275.jpg?v=1671425099","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/some-account-of-the-life-of-mr-william-shakespear-1709-gb-16275","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}