The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition: Essential Plays / The Sonnets Paperback – December 19, 2008

There is just about every work I could ever want to read by the Bard in this book. It was a wonderful companion during my Shakespeare class, and I couldn't be happier to put this on my shelf. I'm especially happy with the footnotes and quick definitions, which were definitely the best tool to use to ease my understanding on Shakespearian language. No more of that No Fear Shakespeare junk, this book has helped me to decipher Early Modern English on my own.

This was a required textbook for a core English class, that I had intended to sell back as soon as the class is finished. The collection of Shakespeare's works included here goes well past the 7 plays we had to read. This book was very helpful for class and will remain with me for years to come as I am digging deeper into the bard's great legacy. I have used other books but this version is the most helpful to students as it has many footnotes that make it easier to understand the text and get the jokes.

The book got here on time and was in overall decent condition. However, there was a bit more marking in it than I would have expected. Most f the pages contained no marking but in several of the tragedies (Hamlet, Henry IV, King Lear, etc) there was pencil on essentially every page and even some highlighting, which I obviously can't just erase. Aside from that I am satisfied.

I love Shakespeare. I don't know what else to say, but the man is a genius in comedy, drama and the weaving of current (at the time) events in a way that were similar enough for his audience to know of which he spoke without getting him hung. His wit, charm, bawdy, insightful, and so thorough among millions of adjetives that could describe him that reach all corners of the spectrum.

The product came quickly in perfect condition. I am very pleased with this transaction. I needed this for a college class- and found that it is MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper to go through Amazon for books. They are almost always available at a fraction of the price. I don't always want to rent books- because many I would like to keep in my personal library. It really helps to have a trusted place that offers text books way cheaper!

I bought this book as a textbook for one of my classes. I love Norton books. The footnotes and side notes are very helpful. The Introductions give background about the plays and sonnets. The only problem I had is that I only needed it for the tragedies and it included all of the plays. So, if you want all of Shakespeare's plays, then Norton is your book!

Even though the book I got was used it was still in pretty good condition. As for the book itself it's great having so many works in one place.

This book is an extensive collection of all of Shakespeare works. I am using it for a class on his works and although, as I told the professor, I do not understand his comedies; I can appreciate the talent of this man and his ability to engage his audience.

I bought this as a textbook, however, being a fan of Shakespeare just the same, I would still consider purchasing the Norton sets, given their high quality book and having different version of certain plays that are normally not sold, i.e.: King Lear Conflated text.Great buy