{"id":26366,"date":"2021-06-01T13:05:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T17:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/blog\/?p=26366"},"modified":"2021-06-07T09:22:21","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T13:22:21","slug":"books-of-quotations-from-shakespeare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/blog\/books-of-quotations-from-shakespeare\/","title":{"rendered":"Books of Quotations from Shakespeare"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"BardA good book of selected quotations from Shakespeare is a nice complement to the collected works<\/a>. Properly arranged, it lets you find relevant aphorisms, and speeches on a wide variety of topics; bon mots you can drop into conversations, emails, and blog posts. As is my wont, I have collected several of these books, and herein are my opinions of them. Note that there may be later editions than those noted here.<\/p>\n

First, I classify them as four different types of quotation books:<\/p>\n

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  1. Dictionary style<\/strong> (arranged alphabetically by topic such as politics, love, loyalty, fear, etc.;<\/li>\n
  2. Topic or specialty style<\/strong> (a particular type of Shakespearean quotation e.g. insults, or specific focus such as language or sexual allusions);<\/li>\n
  3. General<\/strong> (lines, phrases, or speeches from plays and poems, often arranged by source rather than topic);<\/li>\n
  4. Novelty style<\/strong> (often meant as a gift, joke, or souvenir).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The best sources for reference are the dictionary-style collections because they follow the precedent of other standard quotation sources such as Oxford, Bartleby, Columbus, and Colombo. The alphabetical arrangement of topics makes it easy to look for relevant quotations and provides a reference to where it can be found in the source (preferably act, scene, and line for plays; lines for poems). Line numbers will sometimes differ depending on the source used (i.e. Riverside or Oxford editions).<\/p>\n

    And I caution against depending on the general online quote collections, most of which allow any user to post a “quotation” without citing a proper source, or having anyone confirm it later. Far too many of the online quotation sites are responsible for thousands of misattributed quotations shared on social media.  And the alleged quotation may be miswritten as well. These sites are not<\/em> authoritative: they are generally just clickbait for their advertisers. Avoid them. There are, however, dedicated Shakespeare sites that are credible sources for quotations. But I still recommend owning at least one of the dictionary-style collections referred to below. Nothing beats a book.<\/p>\n

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    I have four books in the dictionary format and these are my best sources. There is, as might be expected, some overlap in selections in any topic, but each offers a different selection, sometimes wildly different. Only the Arden and Columbia collections include The Two Noble Kinsmen.<\/em> None have Edward III <\/em>or Sir Thomas More.<\/em><\/p>\n

    All four have proven useful to me when looking for a relevant quotation or aphorism, but I tend to rely mostly on the Arden edition, followed by the Columbia, the Miner\/Rawson, and finally the Wordsworth. All except the Wordsworth edition offer suggested terms for cross-reference in their topics.<\/p>\n

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    1. The Arden Dictionary of Shakespeare Quotation<\/strong><\/em>s, edited by Jane Armstrong (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010; 396 pages). Shows act, scene, line number, speaker, and the person spoken to. Sometimes includes explanation or reason for speech. Includes a glossary, keyword index, and index arranged by play or poem.<\/li>\n
    2. The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations<\/strong><\/em> from Shakespeare, selected by Mary & Reginald Foakes (Columbia University Press, 1998; 516 pages). Includes act, scene, line number, speaker and a small note explaining speech or to whom the speech is made. Includes indexes by character speaking, play, and keyword. Includes The Two Noble Kinsmen<\/em>. This is my only hardcover of the four.<\/li>\n
    3. A Dictionary of Quotations from Shakespeare<\/strong><\/em>, selected by Margaret Miner and Hugh Rawson, subtitled A Topical Guide to Over 3,000 Great Passages From the Plays, Sonnets, and Narrative Poems<\/em> (Meridian, 1996; 368 pages). Shows act, scene, and line number, and sometimes explanation or commentary on speech. Includes a keyword index. Does not include The Two Noble Kinsmen<\/em>.<\/li>\n
    4. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Shakespeare Quotations<\/em><\/strong>, compiled by G.F. Lamb, subtitled A thesaurus of insight and wisdom from the Bard of Avon<\/em> (Wordsworth Reference, 1995; also sold as Chambers Shakespeare Quotations<\/em> and other titles; 352 pages). Shows act and scene, but no line numbers. Also has a dictionary of characters from the plays, and other supporting material, and an index ordered by play and poem, then by topic within that source. Does not include The Two Noble Kinsmen<\/em>. Offers no suggestions or cross-references to other topics.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      As an example of the differences in selections, I looked up the following topics in all of the above. First, fear<\/em>:<\/p>\n