Editing Shakespeare

This talk considers how Shakespeare's text has evolved over the last 400 years. Theories about the purpose of editing and narratives about the origin of Shakespeare's text and its transmission into print vary over time and editors take great pains to present their rationales as more fitting to the task of representing Shakespeare to their readers than the methods used by their predecessors. However, the impact of editorial theories on the editing of Shakespeare is not always straightforward and, while change occurs, thus suggesting that the editorial tradition is evolutionary and progressive, some editorial practices tend to endure, revealing a recurrent desire to perfect Shakespeare.

Sonia Massai is Professor of Shakespeare Studies in the English Department at King's College London. She has published widely on the history of the transmission of Shakespeare on the stage and on the page, focusing specifically on the evolution of Shakespeare's texts in print before 1709 and on the appropriation of Shakespeare across different languages, media and cultures in the late 20C and early 21C.