A Concise Companion to Shakespeare and the Text / Edition 1

by Andrew R. Murphy

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781444332056
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	03/08/2010
Series:	Concise Companions to Literature and Culture
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

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).

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Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors vii

Acknowledgments x

Note on Texts xi

Introduction: What Happens in Hamlet? Andrew Murphy 1

Part I Histories of the Books 15

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

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

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

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

Part II Theories of Editing 91

5 The Birth of the Editor Andrew Murphy 93

6 The Science of Editing Paul Werstine 109

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

8 Shakespeare and the Electronic Text Michael Best 145

Part III Practicalities 163

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

10 Working with the Texts: Differential Readings Sonia Massai 185

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

Afterword John Drakakis 221

Bibliography 239

Index 258

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"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

Editorial Reviews

"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)

From the Publisher