About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English dramatist, poet, and actor, generally regarded as the greatest playwright of all time. Edward Burns is a professor of English at William Paterson University, USA. ANN THOMPSON is Emeritus Professor in English at King' s College London UK. David Scott Kastan is the George M. Bodman Professor of English at Yale University, USA. Henry Woudhuysen is Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, UK. Professor Richard Proudfoot served as Senior General Editor of the Arden Shakespeare for 35 years, until his retirement from King's in 1999. In 2001 The Arden Shakespeare published Proudfoot's Shakespeare: Text, Stage and Canon a critical overview of the scholarly achievements made in the field of Shakespeare studies by the end of the twentieth century.