A Concise Companion to Shakespeare and the Text

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.

Notes on Contributors.

Acknowledgments.

Note on Texts.

Introduction: What Happens in Hamlet? (Andrew Murphy).

Part I Histories of the Books.

1 The Publishing Trade in Shakespeare′s Time (Helen Smith).

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

3 Shakespeare Writ Small: Early Single Editions of Shakespeare′s Plays (Thomas L. Berger).

4 The Life of the First Folio in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (Anthony James West).

Part II Theories of Editing.

5 The Birth of the Editor (Andrew Murphy).

6 The Science of Editing (Paul Werstine).

7 Editing Shakespeare in a Postmodern Age (Leah S. Marcus).

8 Shakespeare and the Electronic Text (Michael Best).

Part III Practicalities.

9 Working with the Text: Editing in Practice (David Bevington).

10 Working with the Texts: Differential Readings (Sonia Massai).

11 Mapping Shakespeare′s Contexts: Doing Things with Databases (Neil Rhodes).

Afterword (John Drakakis).

Bibliography.

Index.

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).

"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)