Cambridge Library CoLLeCtion Books of enduring scholarly value Literary studies This series provides a high-quality selection of early printings of literary works, textual editions, anthologies and literary criticism which are of lasting scholarly interest. Ranging from Old English to Shakespeare to early twentieth-century work from around the world, these books offer a valuable resource for scholars in reception history, textual editing, and literary studies. Romeo and Juliet John Dover Wilson’s New Shakespeare, published between 1921 and 1966, became the classic Cambridge edition of Shakespeare’s plays and poems until the 1980s. The series, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work is available both individually and as part of a set, and each contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary printed at the back. The edition, which began with The Tempest and ended with The Sonnets, put into practice the techniques and theories that had evolved under the ‘New Bibliography’. Remarkably by today’s standards, although it took the best part of half a century to produce, the New Shakespeare involved only a small band of editors besides Dover Wilson himself. As the volumes took shape, many of Dover Wilson’s textual methods acquired general acceptance and became an established part of later editorial practice, for example in the Arden and New Cambridge Shakespeares. The reissue of this series in the Cambridge Library Collection complements the other historic editions also now made available. Cambridge University Press has long been a pioneer in the reissuing of out-of-print titles from its own backlist, producing digital reprints of books that are still sought after by scholars and students but could not be reprinted economically using traditional technology. The Cambridge Library Collection extends this activity to a wider range of books which are still of importance to researchers and professionals, either for the source material they contain, or as landmarks in the history of their academic discipline. Drawing from the world-renowned collections in the Cambridge University Library, and guided by the advice of experts in each subject area, Cambridge University Press is using state-of-the-art scanning machines in its own Printing House to capture the content of each book selected for inclusion. The files are processed to give a consistently clear, crisp image, and the books finished to the high quality standard for which the Press is recognised around the world. The latest print-on-demand technology ensures that the books will remain available indefinitely, and that orders for single or multiple copies can quickly be supplied. The Cambridge Library Collection will bring back to life books of enduring scholarly value across a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences and in science and technology. Romeo and Juliet The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare Volume 30 William Shakespeare Edited by John Dover Wilson CAmBRiDgE UNiVERSiTy PRESS Cambridge New york melbourne madrid Cape Town Singapore São Paolo Delhi Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New york www.cambridge.org information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108006026 © in this compilation Cambridge University Press 2009 This edition first published 1955 This digitally printed version 2009 iSBN 978-1-108-00602-6 This book reproduces the text of the original edition. The content and language reflect the beliefs, practices and terminology of their time, and have not been updated. THE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE EDITED FOR THE SYNDICS OF THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS BY JOHN DOVER WILSON ASSISTED IN THIS VOLUME BY GEORGE IAN DUTHIE ROMEO AND JULIET ROMEO & JULIET CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS I969 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Delhi Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521094979 © Cambridge University Press 1955, 2008 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1955 Reprinted 1961 First paperback edition 1969 Re-issued in this digitally printed version 2009 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-521-07554-1 hardback ISBN 978-0-521-09497-9 paperback THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED BY ITS EDITORS TO THEIR FORMER STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENTS AT MCGILL AND EDINBURGH UNIVERSITIES