‘What’s in a name?’ - Romeo and Juliet, Act II, scene 2.

When someone mentions Shakespeare what comes into your head? Do you think of traditional costume dramas, or recent popular films complete with guns and cars, or indeed of the elusive man himself? The question has so many varied answers that it is almost impossible to attempt to define what ‘Shakespeare’ means. What, indeed, is in his name?

William Shakespeare, both in terms of his life and his work, is the most written about author in the history of Western civilization. His canon includes 38 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 epic narrative poems. In all of Shakespeare’s works there are a total of 884,647 words, 118,406 lines, and 31,959 speeches. Shakespeare’s vocabulary comprises 29,066 words, many of which are acknowledged by the Oxford English Dictionary as being coined by Shakespeare (i.e. they are first seen in the printed editions of his plays). These include: accessible, barefaced, exposure, lament, paternal, puke, roadway, schoolboy, and watchdog. Think where we would be without Shakespeare. Phrases which we use and hear everyday were coined by this one man; ‘Brave new world’ (The Tempest), ‘Bated breath’ (The Merchant of Venice), ‘We have seen better days’ (As You Like It), ‘Cruel to be kind’ (Hamlet), ‘A tower of strength’ (Richard III), and ‘Foregone conclusion’ (Othello). Shakespeare’s vocabulary, whether or not a person has ever read or even seen any of his works, is integral to our culture and language.

So how has one man who lived in the sixteenth century been able to infiltrate twenty-first century life? Certainly, Shakespeare’s reputation as perhaps the greatest of all dramatists was not achieved during his lifetime. It was only really in the Restoration period, some fifty or more years after his death, that his reputation began to eclipse that of his contemporaries. At the time Shakespeare’s works were not always treated with the respect we often find in modern productions. They were frequently manipulated and even changed to the extent that one production of King Lear ended with Cordelia’s revival – an act that changed the whole mood of the play. But, perhaps it was these alterations that kept Shakespeare’s plays popular and alive on the stages of Restoration England. It is only with the Romantic period that we see Shakespeare’s work being celebrated as an unequalled articulation of universal human truths. And it is this concept that has influenced Shakespeare’s reputation throughout the twentieth century.

Shakespeare has become a central icon of Western culture. But, paradoxically, it is this very fact that can often prevent Shakespeare being read and enjoyed. The pleasure of the works themselves is often lost in the reverence with which Shakespeare has been treated in recent memory. It is vital not to lose sight of the original works behind the iconic name of Shakespeare – remember that ‘the play’s the thing’ (Hamlet). The Oxford Shakespeare series, under the general editorship of Stanley Wells, offers readers the opportunity to discover the original works that produced the ‘cult’ of Shakespeare. Modern spelling and detailed introductions and notes have produced a series that the Times Literary Supplement has hailed as ‘a new conception of Shakespeare’. Shakespeare, ultimately, wrote plays to be performed and understood by all, and he remains accessible today. Granted, some words and phrases do need definition, but this is where the Oxford Shakespeare series’ notes can come into play.

Shakespeare is certainly more than a name. His creative innovation, scope, depth, timelessness and, perhaps most importantly, his accessibility, have ensured that his work continues to be read, performed, and enjoyed today. The plays’ more recent incarnations both on stage and film are helping to ensure that Shakespeare continues to reach new audiences. This is only one of the aspects of Shakespeare’s works, times, life, and afterlives discussed in the new Companion to Shakespeare, edited by Michael Dobbs and Stanley Wells. Published in September 2001, this companion brings together a team of internationally renowned scholars to provide a complete reference to the plays and poems and their interpretation around the world.

November 2001 sees a new edition of Henry VI, Part Three joining the 29 titles already available in the Oxford Shakespeare series. Although an example of the genre of chronicle history plays that were popular in the sixteenth century, this play again has something to say to us about life today. We see in Henry VI, Parts One, Two, and Three, and Richard III, the evil results of weak leadership and national disunity fostered for selfish ends. Any comparison with contemporary world politics is easy make!

Shakespeare remains central to our everyday lives. Remember that if you fail to understand something, even if it is in one of Shakespeare’s own works, and you say to yourself ‘It is all Greek to me’, you are in fact quoting Shakespeare. Shakespeare is as stimulating today as he ever was.