The Tragedy of Coriolanus New Edition

“Professor Jeffrey Kahan’s expertise in the history of Shakespearean acting complements Kittredge’s lucid [introduction and text] to create an edition of Coriolanus that centers modern readers in the play’s performance. Kahan’s introduction to the edition both recounts historical performances and carefully details recent directorial choices—choices that reappear in the course of his footnotes providing acting choices for key scenes. These notes, together with photographs of compelling performances, fix the reader’s imagination firmly in the midst of Shakespeare’s chilling theatrical portrayal of Republican Rome. This highly accessible edition will prove invaluable for actors, students, and lovers of Shakespeare.”
—Cyndia Clegg, Pepperdine University

George Lyman Kittredge’s insightful editions of Shakespeare have endured in part because of his eclecticism, his diversity of interests, and his wide-ranging accomplishments—all of which are reflected in the valuable notes in each volume. The plays in the New Kittredge Shakespeare series retain their original Kittredge notes and introductions, changed or augmented only when some modernization seems necessary. These new editions also include introductory essays by contemporary editors, notes on the plays as they have been performed on stage and film, and additional student materials.

These plays are being made available by Focus Publishing with the permission of the Kittredge heirs.

Jeffrey Kahan is a Professor of English at the University of La Verne in California. He completed his PhD at the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham, England.