A Concise Companion to Shakespeare and the Text

A Concise Companion to Shakespeare and the Text introduces the early editions, editing practices, and publishing history of Shakespeare’s plays and poems, and examines their influence on bibliographic studies as a whole.

• The first single-volume book to provide an accessible and authoritative introduction to Shakespearean bibliographic studies
• Includes a helpful introduction, notes on Shakespeare’s texts, and a useful bibliography
• Contributors represent both leading and emerging scholars in the field
• Represents an unparalleled resource for both students and faculty

Notes on Contributors vii

Acknowledgments x

Note on Texts xi

Introduction: What Happens in Hamlet? 1
Andrew Murphy

Part I Histories of the Books 15

1 The Publishing Trade in Shakespeare’s Time 17
Helen Smith

2 Reading and Authorship: The Circulation of Shakespeare 1590–1619 35
Peter Stallybrass and Roger Chartier

3 Shakespeare Writ Small: Early Single Editions of Shakespeare’s Plays 57
Thomas L. Berger

4 The Life of the First Folio in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 71
Anthony James West

Part II Theories of Editing 91

5 The Birth of the Editor 93
Andrew Murphy

6 The Science of Editing 109
Paul Werstine

7 Editing Shakespeare in a Postmodern Age 128
Leah S. Marcus

8 Shakespeare and the Electronic Text 145
Michael Best

Part III Practicalities 163

9 Working with the Text: Editing in Practice 165
David Bevington

10 Working with the Texts: Differential Readings 185
Sonia Massai

11 Mapping Shakespeare’s Contexts: Doing Things with Databases 204
Neil Rhodes

Afterword 221
John Drakakis

Bibliography 239

Index 258

"As the concept of authorship continues to deconstruct itself in the wake of postmodernism, the volume is an indispensable addition to the bookshelves of both students and academics." (Notes and Queries, December 2009)

"The essays offer a good balance of general history, theoretical issues, and individual case studies, such that, as a whole, the collection will be a valuable resource for those new to book-history studies, while also advancing ongoing debates through a series of thoughtful reflections on the state of the field." (Archiv, 2009)

"This collection is more than a companion. It is a superlative guide to the current crisis surrounding the editing of the complex Shakespearean text ... .Essential” (CHOICE)

"Andrew Murphy's ably edited Concise Companion to Shakespeare and Text ... constitutes an appropriate consecration for an area in Shakespeare studies whose vast importance has become increasingly obvious. [This book] provides an authoritative introduction to the field and full coverage of it, with a useful division into three main parts: 'Histories of the Book' (I), 'Theories of Editing' (II), and 'Practicalities' (III) … a fine achievement." (Around the Globe)

Andrew Murphy is Professor of English at the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing (2003), the editor of The Renaissance Text: Theory, Editing, Textuality (2000), and co-editor of Shakespeare and Scotland (2004). Shakespeare’s works were among the very first English secular texts to be edited. The long history of adapting them has positioned them as a catalyst for theories of editing and textuality. A Concise Companion to Shakespeare and the Text introduces the early editions, editing practices, and publishing history of Shakespeare’s plays and poems, and examines their influence on bibliographic studies as a whole.

Written by leading scholars in the field, this comprehensive text examines the history of Shakespeare’s works in their subsequent editions, as well as the theories and practicalities of working with the texts. The first single-volume book to provide an accessible and authoritative introduction to Shakespearean bibliographic studies, this succinct text is an excellent resource for both students and faculty.

"Andrew Murphy's superb collection brings together a group of expert scholars who are also gifted expositors. This volume concisely and eloquently surveys the whole field of Shakespeare studies, and will be invaluable both to specialists and to the general reader."
—Stephen Orgel, Stanford University