Ren Weis is Professor of English at University College London and a distinguished editor and biographer of Shakespeare.
Romeo and Juliet continues to be a perennial favourite in the English classroom. As well as offering students a clear and spacious text to read and annotate, the latest Arden edition provides a wealth of critical and contextual material - so crucial to today's study of Shakespeare. Ideal for teachers looking to refresh and update their reading of the text, Rene Weis's introduction combines close attention to dramatic language with a comprehensive overview of the history of the play in performance. However familiar a reader might be with Romeo and Juliet, this new edition will bring a range of fresh perspectives, dispelling some oft-repeated myths along the way. * Dr Jenny Stevens, Teacher and Lecturer in English * ... this new Arden is a thoroughly usable edition... Both introduction and commentary are sensitive, sharp-eyed and clear. Weis's account of the play's performance history brings out the excitement of modern productions by Michael Bogdanov and Tim Carroll, and the innovations of Baz Luhrmann's film... this Romeo and Juliet will serve well. -- Duncan Salkeld * Times Literary Supplement * If you are looking for something for your A-level students, particularly to start off study for Edexcel's unit four for A level, this is the perfect edition. The notes are detailed and scholarly, and there are many essays and appendices which students would find useful, including a look at playing the love scenes through the ages and some reflection on the various adaptations and original setting for Romeo and Juliet over the centuries. * Teaching Drama * Rene Weis's Romeo and Juliet lives up to the high standards of the Arden Shakespeare, with an extensive introduction, expansive editorial glosses, and even a facsimile reproduction of Q1 in an appendix. -- Garrett A. Sullivan, Jr., Rice University * Studies in English Literature, Vol. 53, No. 2 * Prof. Weis' edition of Romeo and Juliet implements a number of important updates from the second Arden edition of the test. With a comprehensive introduction, and in-depth textual notations, it has easily become the definitive edition of the play. * Jarrod DePrado, Sacred Heart University, USA *