A Brief History of the Edited Shakespearean Text

Abstract

This essay won the 2005 Literature Compass Graduate Essay Prize, Shakespeare Section. This essay will involve a historical survey of the underlying theories and principles that have been instrumental in determining the formative scholarly editions of Shakespeare since the early eighteenth century. By examining representations of editorial practice – specifically representations as expressed in prefatory material as well as other editorial apparatuses such as notes and commentary in influential editions from Nicholas Rowe's (1709) through to those of the late twentieth century – this paper is aimed at providing a clear sense of the fundamental principles shaping the edited Shakespearean text.