Written near the end of Shakespeare's creative period, this play is perhaps the most ambitious of all Shakespeare's designs in its geographical and historical sweep. A critical section examines how the technique of the play may have contributed to the disappointment of various performances.

The latest entry in the Oxford Shakespeare presents a newly edited text of the most formally ambitious and poetically brilliant of Shakespeare's tragedies. Always alert to the play's theatricality and boldly experimental design, the extensive introduction offers a fresh critical account of the play, exploring its paradoxical treatment of gender and identity.