David G. Pitt

Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's leading center for Shakespeare studies. Each edition includes: freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play; full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play; scene-by-scene plot summaries; a key to famous lines and phrases; an introduction to reading Shakespeare's language; an essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play;...

'The Tempest' has long been regarded as Shakespeare's swan-song, though recent chronologies suggest he went on to compose 'Henry VIII' and 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' after. In its first publication (in the First Folio of 1623), 'The Tempest' appears in the 'Comedies' section. In modern criticism, it is more likely to be described as a 'late play' (written towards the end of what we perceive to be Shakespeare's writing career, c. 1607-13) or a 'romance'...