This little book is a jewel. The compiler, Jane Armstrong, has resisted the temptation to pack it with only the romantic comedies or just the exquisitely heart-breaking poetry of "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Romeo and Juliet". She has included quotes from many of Shakespeare's thirty-seven plays, and even some of the history plays such as "Henry IV Part 2" and "Henry V" get a look in.Some will doubtless feel that such a small book of brief quotations is an easy option for the reader, and that it cannot do justice to a playwright of such astonishing depth and complexity as Shakespeare. But perhaps a book of this nature, which presents the beauty of language in such an accessible way, will actually lead people who would not normally read or see the plays to be intrigued and moved enough to give them a try. There is a good balance between the many facets of joy, excitement, obsession, sensuality and sorrow, and the book's division of quotes into love's various circumstances and moods makes it fascinating to compare expressions from different characters and plays. Rather strangely though, while the line references are given, the speakers are not named, so if you don't know who said what, and haven't got a copy of the play, you won't learn it from this book.
I have a few other quibbles, too. Shakespeare purists may not approve of the fact that the odd liberty seems to have been taken here and there with the texts. I particularly didn't like the occasional omissions of words or shortening of lines, though I can see that it was done to clarify the meaning and crystallise the essence of the quote. Some quotations are rather predictably present, so we get "What's in a name ?....", "There's beggary in the love....", "Shall I compare thee..." and so on. But then, to be fair, could you really have a book of this kind without them ? And in addition, many others are much less well-known. There are too many one and two-liners, as if the compiler was determined to make them eminently quotable and as if Arden imagined the reader couldn't digest anything longer and more complex. Sometimes a slight extension of the piece, giving more context, would have strengthened the power of the verse. However, there are some exceptions, and a few of the sonnets are there in their entirety.
For those unfamiliar with Shakespeare, it's a wonderful book to introduce you to the immense pleasures of the plays and sonnets. To those who know his work well, it's a tiny additional source of knowledge and delight. I bought copies for several of my friends, including those who don't ordinarily read Shakespeare, so sure was I that they would enjoy it. And even if, like me, you don't entirely endorse the choice of quotations, it's still quite wonderful, "such stuff as dreams are made on", indeed .