The Arden Shakespeare is a long-running series of scholarly editions of the works of William Shakespeare. It presents fully edited modern-spelling editions of the plays and poems, with lengthy introductions and full commentaries. There have been three distinct series of The Arden Shakespeare over the past century, with the third series commencing in 1995 and concluding in January 2020.[1] The fourth series is scheduled to commence publication in 2026.[2]
Arden was the maiden name of Shakespeare's mother, Mary, but the primary reference of the enterprise's title is to the Forest of Arden, in which Shakespeare's As You Like It is set.[3]
The Arden Shakespeare Fourth Series succeeds the Third Series of Shakespeare's Plays, Poems and Sonnets, publishing from 2026 onwards in print and in digital editions.