Special Features of the Page Design

On page glossary - A jargon-free, on-page glossary explains words and references unfamiliar to modern students, including the sexual innuendo and bawdy humour which has often been either censored or ignored by the editors of older editions.

Single-column layout - Easy to read with lots of white space (room for students to make notes!)

Editorial and Folio Stage directions - The design of the RSC Complete Works clearly differentiates the original Folio stage directions written by Shakespeare from the editors' own inserted stage directions, to show which were in the original text (this is an innovative feature as competing editions tend to combine them). This means the reader can both envisage the original text more vividly and, at the same time, get a feeling for how a modern day actor or director might interpret the scene.

Running Scene Count - the original folio included Act and Scene divisions, the convention being that a scene ends when the stage is empty. Nowadays we tend to consider a scene to be a dramatic unit that ends with either a change of location or passage of time. So, in addition to Act:Scene divisions we provide a running scene count which will help the reader to mark and understand the dramatic pace of the play.

Line numbers - marked every 5 lines for easy navigation of the text - a popular feature for students.