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A Qualitative Analysis of Compositors C and D in
the Shakespeare
First Folio
by
John S.
O'Connor
The promise that compositorial analysis has held out for editors of Shakespeare—that it could significantly affect how editors treat accidentals, lineation, and emendations, as well as indirectly reveal the nature of the printer's copy—has not yet been fulfilled because of the incompleteness of our knowledge about the compositors of the Shakespeare First Folio. Compositorial analysis of the First Folio has been primarily concerned with establishing the number of compositors and identifying their shares of the text.[1] These tasks have been the necessary prerequisite for analysis of the amount and kind of textual corruption that the compositors introduced. Now that recent studies of the Comedies section of the Folio have revealed "who set what,"[2] we can begin to examine the quality of each compositor's work, in that section at least.
The Comedies section is especially important since the most authoritative text for ten of the fourteen plays in this section is the Folio, and five of the six compositors who worked on the Folio set pages in the Comedies. Compositor B was the most important compositor, setting 127 of the 301 pages. Dr. Alice Walker roughly described his habits over twenty years ago,[3] but a thorough analysis should wait until his share in the rest of the Folio is determined. Compositor F was the least important compositor, setting only 22 pages in the first five
Both Compositors C and D set a number of pages in the four comedies where extant quartos were their copy (Ado, LLL, MND, and MV) as well as pages from Err, MM, AYL, Shr, and AWW. Compositor C also worked in Tmp, TGV, and Wiv. Thus, one can establish qualitative evidence (a list of changes the compositors made from the extant copy which reveals their habits), and apply it to the plays where the Folio is the only or best text. Compositor C was the more careless, in most ways, of the two compositors. In the four plays where his copy is extant, he set 267 corrupt substantives,[4] an average of one in every 21 lines; whereas Compositor D set 93 corrupt substantives, an average of one in every 34 lines (or in other words, Compositor C made one more error per column than Compositor D). These figures suggest that one should examine Compositor C's pages with more care and adopt emendations more readily, but it does not tell an editor what to look for. A mass figure or an average, like the ones above, can be misleading. Hence I have classified the substantive errors according to the traditional categories of substitutions, omissions, interpolations, and transpositions.
COMPOSITOR C | COMPOSITOR D | |||||||||
Ado | LLL | MND | MV | Total | Ado | LLL | MND | MV | total | |
pages | 13.5 | 11 | 9 | 8.5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 9.5 | ||
Transpositions | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Substitutions | 55 | 58 | 31 | 30 | 174 | 10 | 19 | 15 | 26 | 70 |
Omissions | 30 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 58 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
Interpolations | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
total | 96 | 77 | 44 | 50 | 267 | 15 | 29 | 16 | 33 | 93 |
TRANSPOSITIONS generally involve two monosyllabic words, and they usually do not change the meaning of a passage because the word order of English is often loose. The transpositions by Compositors C and D are typical: they do not radically alter the meaning, nor do they disrupt the meter in a verse line. Usually transpositions are the result of a memorial error. The compositor who frequently transposes words is probably trying to carry too much copy in his head.
The frequency of transpositions in these four comedies reveals most dramatically how Compositors C and D differed in their type-setting techniques. Compositor D transposed words only once in 25-½ pages: shall it for it shall (P1, 803). Compositor C transposed words nineteen times in forty-two pages.
Quarto | Folio | |||
Ado | I4 | 302 | you do | doe you |
16v | 968 | of us | us of | |
986[*] | make but | but make | ||
K3v | 1747 | are you | you are | |
LLL | L3 | 476[*] | was Sampson | Sampson was |
L4 | 665 | I will | would I | |
674 | shall we | we shall | ||
M3v | 2108[*] | but vouchsafe | vouchsafe but | |
MND | N3v | 700 | we can | can you |
N5v | 1170 | all are | are all | |
O1v | 1736[*] | patcht a | a patch'd | |
MV | O4v | 219[*] | is it | it is |
P1v | 946 | are you | you are | |
P6v | 2223 | take then | then take | |
2261 | so taken | taken so | ||
Q1 | 2318[*] | shalt thou | thou shalt | |
2321 | home with me | with me home | ||
Q1v | 2477 | it in | in it | |
Q2v | 2699 | even but | but ev'n |
Almost all of Compositor C's changes make sense. Most of his transpositions involved a verb: nine of them are between a modal verb and a pronoun, and four more are about the placement of the adverb before or after the verb. Thirteen of his transpositions are in verse lines but, despite the possible change of emphasis in the line of
Possibly some of Compositor C's transpositions were not accidental; rather, they may have been conscious attempts to make the line clearer. Some of his changes are smoother than the quarto reading; for example, the change on 16v makes the line smoother and clearer: "I remember a pretty jest your daughter told us of" (968). Similarly on K3v the Folio version, "Why then you are no maiden" (1747), is more direct. Still, making a line more regular might also be the result of memorial error—the compositor recalls a simpler phrasing. Some of Compositor C's transpositions may have been intentional, but I think they were simple memorial errors. As we will see, Compositor C was clearly prone to similar kinds of memorial errors.
SUBSTITUTIONS are the exchange of one or more letters or words. Approximately 20% of the substitutions by Compositors C and D are corrections of obviously corrupt readings in their copy. The rest are corruptions that they introduce. Unintentional substitutions are of two types: the first type is orthographic—the omission or deletion of a single letter or the transposition of two letters (literals), or the confusion of common roots like willingly and willfully. The second type changes the whole word, like can for should, often roughly synonymous with the original. In general the first type results from misreading the copy; whereas the second seems to be memorial. (See the chart in Appendix I.)
As with transpositions, Compositor C's substitutions are more frequent and seem to be more often memorial than Compositor D's substitutions, which seem to be more often misreadings of the copy. Compositor C averages a substitution every 32 lines; Compositor D substitutes on an average of once every 48 lines. Occasionally both compositors will substitute a number of words within a few lines (for example, Compositor C on L4 and Compositor D on N5), but generally they do not substitute words in clusters that might suggest illegible copy or compositorial fatigue. Compositor C makes five or more errors of substitution on eighteen of his forty-two pages, while Compositor D makes five or more errors of substitution on only five of his 25-½ pages. The difference does not appear to be patterned (due to the
Because of the low number of substitutions, it is difficult to see from the above lists if either compositor is prone to particular kinds of errors. The following chart divides their substitutions into some non-exclusive categories.
Compositor C | Compositor D | |
number of substitutions | 174 | 68+2[5] |
literals | 89 | 38 |
same root | 29 | 14 |
final s omitted or added | 10 | 14 |
contraction, elision, or expansion | 20 | 0 |
nouns and verbs | 76 | 36 |
proper nouns | 11 | 1 |
in prose | 59 | 29 |
Compositor C, on the other hand, is more likely to make substitutions due to memorial error. Proportionately he does not have so many orthographical errors or misreadings as Compositor D; instead he more often forgets the exact wording or spelling. For instance, he occasionally does not recall if a word (especially a name) has been contracted or not; thus he makes such substitutions as upon for on (I4v, 444) and 'Fore for Before (L1, 1012). He also makes another kind of memorial error when he sets a word that he has recently used in a similar context. Compositor C is occasionally influenced by nearby words or phrases; an apparent example of either eye-skip or memorial error is immaculate for maculate (L3, 396), since immaculate appears in line 395 directly above Compositor C's error. A second example of
Some of his changes appear to be deliberate. Many of the changes are roughly synonymous, as looke for see (K3, 546) and doe for use (N3, 589). These changes might be due to spacing or attempts to improve the copy, rather than memorial errors. About a dozen of his substitutions seem to be in response to spacing difficulties.[7] A good example is on crowded I4, where he changes at least to yet: Another example of substitutions as a result of crowding can be found in lines 349 and 358 at the bottom of L2v. Sometimes Compositor C apparently tries to improve his copy beyond correcting the obvious corruptions. He straightens out proper names in the speech-prefixes (K1, 1256) and in the text (O2, 1957). He 'corrects' at least one malapropism by Dogberry (K3, 1650). Also, he seems more sensitive to meter than Compositor D; he drops (L4, 669) or adds (N2, 253) syllables to regularize iambic pentameter lines.[8] The only comparable sophistication by Compositor D is dombe for dead (K6v, 2531) for the sake of rhyme.
Because Compositor C's substitutions are most often either memorial slips or conscious sophistications which preserve the original meaning, they are harder to detect than Compositor D's. Also, Compositor C's copy is harder to reconstruct since he often fails to leave any orthographical clues.
OMISSIONS by both compositors generally seem to be either unconscious errors or attempts to save space, rather than deliberate
Somewhat surprisingly, omissions occur more frequently in verse than in prose. Usually both compositors are sensitive to meter (though Compositor C has the better ear), and one would expect omissions to consist of extra, less important parts of speech, in prose passages. Both compositors usually omit a single word, often a pronoun or preposition. But only 15% of Compositor D's omissions fall into these two categories, compared with 40% for Compositor C. Once again this discrepancy can be explained according to their differing compositorial styles: memorial errors are likely to involve the less important parts of speech. Thus, Compositor D's omissions are often more significant than Compositor C's: for instance, he is slightly more prone to skip a line than Compositor C. Compositor D misses one or more lines three times in his 25-½ pages. Compositor C misses a line or more six times in his 42 pages, but two of them were probably editorial rather than compositorial. His two-line skip on K1v may be due to a reference to the Spanish, "and a Spaniard from the hip upward, no doublet";[9] and the three-line slip on K4v may be due to the four references to God in one line, "they serve God: and write God first, for God defend but God should goe before such villaines." A minor cause of omitting a line is eye-skip. On two occasions Compositor C omits lines because of eye-skip. I4 in the Folio is a classic example: The second instance is on K3v, where 'do' is repeated at the end of four clauses in a row. Another minor cause for skipping a line is lack of space. Compositor C clearly skips a line because of lack of space on L1, the last page of Ado. Compositor D might have skipped a line on N6v because of lack of space, since the whole page is crowded (see line 1378). Yet curiously a space is left where line 1348+1 should be.
Lack of space is more frequently a cause for omitting a word, rather than a line. Some omissions in verse lines are clearly due to
INTERPOLATIONS may be Compositor C's and D's least interesting changes. In most instances they do not add anything significant; rather, they simply make the meaning more explicit by adding an article, preposition, or pronoun. Over a third of Compositor C's interpolations are articles. (See chart in Appendix III.) In contrast to the other kinds of errors, interpolations occur with equal frequency in both compositors' pages. Possibly a compositor prone to memorial errors, like Compositor C, is less likely to interpolate than to substitute or omit. One significant difference in their interpolations is that Compositor D adds words in prose proportionately more often than Compositor C. This difference is probably due to Compositor C's greater sensitivity to meter: only four of Compositor C's additions are in verse lines (M1v, N3, P4, and P5v), and three of them regularize the meter. Two of these verse interpolations emphasize parallel grammatical constructions: 'The sea will ebbe and flow, heaven will show his face' (M1v), and 'a husband / Hast thou of me, and she is for a wife' (P5v).
Compositor C's most significant interpolation is the new speech-prefix on L3v, 512. He attempts to correct the quarto's reading that gives the whole speech (504-525) to an unannounced, and thereafter silent, Queen. However, as Furness notes, the comma after Boyet is puzzling:[10] Why did Compositor C split the speech between the missing Queen and the Princess, rather than give the whole speech to the Princess?
Compositor D inserts several interpolations more important than Compositor C's. Four of Compositor D's six interpolations in verse lines disrupt the regular meter (L5, 988, N4, O5v, and P1). On the
II
I shall now briefly consider some pages of the other comedies, for which the copy is lost, that were set by Compositors C and D. Since his errors are more obvious, Compositor D's work has been emended more than Compositor C's—even though Compositor C makes more frequent and more serious errors. In the future, editors should examine Compositor C's pages more closely and emend more liberally. Some of the established emendations of Compositor C's work are corrections of his characteristic errors. A simple and obvious change that Compositor C makes is shortening or lengthening a word. A good example is 'hundred psalms' for what should probably be 'hundredth psalm' in line 607 of Wiv.[11] Another example involves upon/on. All recent editors of Err have emended on to upon in line 105, 'We were encountered by a mighty rocke, / Which being violently borne up, / Our helpefull ship was splitted' (104-106).[12] A related emendation is upon us for upon's in 'I'le bring thee to the present businesse / Which now's upon's: without the which, this Story' (Tmp, 239-240).[13] In this example the verse would not have fitted into one line if Compositor C had not contracted either now's or upon's; we know that Compositor C will solve his spacing problems through contractions, and
Knowing that Compositor C is prone to corruptions that involve contractions should help an editor choose between possible emendations. For example, let's alone in 'what doe you mean / To doate thus on such luggage? let's alone / And doe the murther first' (Tmp, 1905) has been emended to let's along by Theobald, let it alone by Hanmer, let't alone by Rann, and let's all on by Wilson; Rann's emendation has been chosen by recent editors of Tmp. Not only is Rann's emendation more economical, it also emends the part that Compositor C is more likely to have corrupted.
When an editor suspects an error of substitution, he should recall that Compositor C tries to carry too much text in his head and is therefore susceptible to having a word or phrase influence other words. For example, a line that Compositor C set, 'To seeke thy helpe by beneficial helpe' (Err, 154), has been emended by changing the first helpe to something else, usually healthe in recent editions.[14] We know that Compositor C's substitutions were often synonyms that need not be orthographically similar; thus, other emendations, like life (Rowe, accepted by Hardin Craig) or hope (Collier), are possible. Another example may be the repetition of worth in 'To be of worth, and worthy estimation' (TGV, 706). Though recent editors have not felt the need to emend the line (partly because worth is repeated frequently throughout this scene and the rest of the play), I think Collier's emendation, wealth, should be given stronger consideration now that we know more about the frequency of Compositor C's substitutions.
A different kind of error of substitution to which Compositor C is prone is correcting apparent corruptions in his copy, like malapropisms. Slender, referring to a marriage proposal, in Wiv says, 'I hope upon familiarity will grow more content' (229). This sentence follows and precedes malapropisms, and I think Theobald was correct in emending content to contempt.[15]
Detailed knowledge of Compositor C may also help us spot likely omissions or interpolations. In MM, 'and have found it' (1828) is the last part of a verse crammed into the top line of G2b (the top half of this column has other signs of crowding). Two recent editors, R. C.
When looking for possible corruptions in Compositor D's pages, an editor should recall Compositor D's habit of misreading words and his particular fondness for adding or dropping a final s. A list of some Folio readings in Err and the emendations adopted by past editors coincide strikingly with Compositor D's habitual corruptions: scoure/score (230), God/God's (258), liberties/libertines (268), stranger/stronger (569), wise/wife (812), sister/sister's (833), bud/bed (836), sweet/sweat (1136), on/one (1143), and ships/ship (1218).[17] Seven of these proposed emendations come from the Second Folio and are merely corrections of literals. A similar list can be made for each of the plays Compositor D worked in. Another possible example of Compositor D's most common error is in the line, 'What knowes the Lawes' (MM, 473), which has been variously emended to read 'What know the Laws' (Rowe), 'What knowes the Law' (Dyce), and 'Who knows the Laws' (Wilson). Clearly the third emendation is the least apt, given Compositor D's treatment of final s. Recent editors of MM have kept the Folio reading, but this is another reading that I think should be reconsidered.
An emendation that replaces a word set by Compositor D should be orthographically similar to the Folio reading, if possible. Line 440 of AYL refers to Celia as 'taller' than Rosalind, but the opposite is true elsewhere. Editors have roughly split between shorter and smaller as emendations. If the inconsistency is due to compositorial error, then it is much more likely that Compositor D should have set smaller than shorter. A similar choice of emendations occurs in MM with 'headstrong weeds' (310), often emended as steeds, wills, deeds, or jades. Lever argues, following Bald, that jades "could have been misread in Shakespeare's handwriting."[18] This is exactly the kind of argument that one can make about Compositor D's work, except steeds seems even more apt than jades.
Also in MM, Compositor D is responsible for one of the famous textual cruxes of the First Folio, 'Some rise by sinne, and some by vertue fall / Some run from brakes of Ice, and answere none' (492-493). Numerous emendations have been offered for 'brakes of Ice,' with 'through brakes of Vice' (Rowe) and 'breaks of Ice' (Collier) the two most popular choices.[19] We now know that Compositor D's substituitons rarely involve only the initial letter; his three substitutions of the initial letter are ye to he, you to thou, and Farborough to Tharborough—the last two might even be considered spelling variants. He did not omit the initial letter in any of the words he set from quarto copy. On the other hand, he seems prone to vowel changes, especially when two conjunct vowels are involved; he can either add a vowel, as in bonds to bounds (N5, 1088), or drop one, as in tainted to tanted (P3v, 1421).[20] Thus, 'breaks of Ice' is the emendation that best accounts for the kind of misreading typical of Compositor D.
An insoluble, but interesting, crux set by Compositor D occurs in the passage in AWW, 'Love no god, that would not extend his might onelie, where qualities were level, Queene of Virgins, that would suffer her poor surpris'd without rescue' (V3, 434-437). Theobald's emendation, 'Diana no Queene of Virgins,' has been commonly accepted, and the new information about Compositor D's habits supports the assertion that something has been omitted. We now know that Compositor D's most serious corruptions were omissions. He skips lines or phrases in his quarto copy on four occasions. Though he does not omit a proper name from his quarto copy, he does drop sir twice and Maister once. Unfortunately, we cannot point to an analogous situation in the pages he set from the quartos that could suggest how to emend this passage—or support Theobald's obviously sound choice.
I hope that I have suggested some valuable ways the information in this article can be applied. Some of it should be immediately useful. Knowing that Compositor C, and not Compositor D, is willing to tamper with the text to achieve a smoother line or solve spacing problems and that he is susceptible to frequent memorial errors should define new boundaries within which editors practice the art of emendation. Other parts of the essay may be helpful as a standard for further comparisons with the other Folio compositors. As Dr. Walker discovered when comparing Compositors A and B, significant qualitative distinctions can be, and should be, made among the Folio compositors.
(* indicates long lines) | |||
Ado | Quarto | Folio | |
I4 | 327* | mine | my |
342* | shill | skill | |
351 | brings | bringeth | |
352* | at least | yet | |
I4v | 388 | bothers | brothers |
393* | one | on | |
410* | a | of | |
431 | a | he | |
444* | on | upon | |
487 | sincke | sinkes | |
I5a | 505 | Jove | Love |
547* | pleases | pleaseth | |
I5v | 676 | my | this |
680* | his single | a single | |
694 | that | a | |
714 | her | my | |
729* | a | of | |
16 | 750* | Countie | Counte |
811* | don | on | |
821* | Marg. | Margaret | |
824* | truth | truths | |
830* | you | thou | |
856* | and | an | |
I6v | 909 | was | were |
918* | live | liefe | |
1000 | a | he | |
K1 | 1012 | Before | 'Fore |
1015 | Claudio | Leon. | |
1017* | say | see | |
1026 | seek | see | |
1039* | gentlewomen | gentlewoman | |
1046* | their | the | |
1099 | propose | purpose | |
K1v | 1148 | sheele | she |
1153 | antique | anticke | |
1169 | then | to | |
1194 | limed | tane | |
1256 | Bene. | Prin. | |
K2 | 1299* | has | hath |
1324 | midnight | night | |
1372* | those | them | |
K3 | 1546* | see | looke |
1619* | pounds | times | |
1626* | ha | have | |
1650 | examination | examine | |
1650 | these | those | |
K3v | 1679 | ah, ha | ha, ha |
1756 | spoke | spoken | |
Ado | Quarto | Folio | |
K5 | 2056* | Leonatoes | Leonato |
2085 | comforter | comfort | |
2147 | mine | my | |
L1 | 2561 | sorts | sort |
2595 | Bened. | Benedike | |
2605 | And | A | |
2680* | reverent | reverend | |
LLL | |||
L1v | 2 | Navar. | Navarre |
36 | pome | pompe | |
75 | quit | quite | |
77* | but that | and that | |
L2v | 231* | welkis vizgerent | Welkins Vicregent |
270* | keepe | keeper | |
309* | till | untill | |
349* | fitteth | fits | |
358* | here is | here's | |
L3 | 396* | maculate | immaculate |
426 | love | jove | |
432* | suffer him to take | let him take | |
433 | a' must | hee must | |
443 | that | what | |
L3v | 498 | Navar | Navarre |
523 | Importuous | Importunes | |
525 | visage | visag'd | |
536 | peerlesse | parts | |
552 | he | shee | |
557 | if I | as I | |
582 | unpeeled | unpeopled | |
L4 | 626 | the one | th'one |
638 | repaide | repaie | |
639 | A | An | |
665 | will | would | |
669 | within | in | |
672 | faire | farther | |
677 | none | owne | |
696* | and you | if you | |
702 | on | a | |
738 | did | doe | |
M1 | 1370 | will | wilt |
1408 | Godesse | Codesse | |
1409* | a'th' | o'th' | |
1419 | in | of | |
1439 | ever | every | |
1467 | ore-hard | ore-heard | |
1479 | One | On | |
M1v | 1505 | to tune | tuning |
1536 | twas | it was | |
1566 | were | are |
Ado | Quarto | Folio | |
M2 | 1643 | gainst | against |
1712 | Let us | Let's | |
M2v | 1795* | wane | wave |
1833* | importunt | importunate | |
M3 | 1895 | a | on |
1898 | yeere | yeeres | |
1899 | shrowd | shrewd | |
1943 | Pearle | Pearls | |
1971* | stable | stab'd | |
1987 | over hard | over-heard | |
1988 | thy | they | |
M3v | 2026 | you | your |
2026 | two | too | |
2041* | speakers | keepers | |
2059 | even | ever | |
2085 | her | you | |
2122 | we | you | |
MND | |||
N2 | 239* | dote | dotes |
253 | oft | often | |
258 | his | this | |
262 | this | his | |
291* | gallant | gallantly | |
327* | here | there | |
N3 | 570 | unto | into |
580 | not I | nor I | |
589 | use | doe | |
N3v | 622 | Ile | I |
665 | our | your | |
671 | Spinders | Spinners | |
700 | we can | can you | |
701 | interchained | interchanged | |
N5v | 1122 | do | doth |
1148 | come | comes | |
1176 | were men | are men | |
1201 | least | lest | |
1209 | thy | that | |
1237 | an | a | |
O1 | 1596 | of | off |
1611 | Fairy | Faire | |
Ado | Quarto | Folio | |
O2 | 1776* | not | no |
1808 | airy | aire | |
1829 | or | our | |
1833 | Philostrate | Egeus | |
O2v | 1920* | this | his |
1957 | Flute | Snout | |
1976 | o sweet, | thou sweet | |
o lovely | and lovely | ||
1994 | now againe | up in thee | |
O3v | 2210 | this | these |
MV | |||
O4vb | 201* | meane | smal |
216 | reasoning | reason | |
217-18* | who . . . who | whom . . . whom | |
P1v | 864 | there | their |
924 | Howe | Hoa | |
951 | mo | more | |
960 | gentleman | gentlemen | |
963 | Whose | Who's | |
P4 | 1496 | me | my |
1505 | something | nothing | |
1518 | Lords | Lord | |
1543* | have | gave | |
P4v | 1687 | lent | lends |
P5 | 1757 | two | too |
1774 | th'indevor | the indeavor | |
1775 | cosin | cosins | |
1817* | be a | be of | |
1833 | in as | e'ne as | |
1843* | there's | there is | |
P5va | 1886 | in | Is |
P6vb | 2205 | who | whom |
2241 | of | off | |
2251 | you | thee | |
Q1 | 2297 | Godsake | Gods sake |
2372 | gainst | against | |
Q1v | 2446 | is | it |
2500 | Terobus | Erobus | |
Q2v | 2657 | that | the |
2657 | mine | my | |
2676 | his | thy |
Ado | Quarto | Folio | |
I3v | 127 | yours | your |
220 | spoke | speake | |
K2v | 1406 | statutes | Statues |
1519 | it | in | |
K5v | 2248* | said | saies |
2255* | theirs | there's | |
2267 | one | on | |
K6 | 2346 | thou | thou thou |
K6v | 2453* | names | name |
2496* | monument | monuments | |
2496* | bell rings | Bels ring | |
2531 | dead | dombe | |
2542 | Heavily, | Heavenly, | |
heavily | heavenly | ||
LLL | |||
L2 | 141* | can | shall |
141* | possible | possibly | |
164 | shall speake | shall breake | |
169 | other | others | |
177 | on | One | |
196* | Farborough | Tharborough | |
L4v | 748* | where | whence |
749 | you | out | |
782* | your | the | |
783* | eylids | eie | |
788* | thinbellies | thinbellie | |
826* | The | Thy | |
L5 | 897* | honour | honours |
915* | threefarthing | threefarthings | |
980 | Ore | On | |
L6 | 1142 | toothen | to the |
1154* | as the | as a | |
1183* | indistreell | indiscreet | |
L6v | 1319* | before | being |
MND | |||
N4 | 805 | you | yet |
809 | swound | sound | |
840* | self | selves | |
855* | tell them | tell him | |
945 | with | and | |
N5 | 1041 | Minnock | Mimmick |
1081* | murdered | murderer | |
1083 | looke | looks | |
1088* | bonds | bounds | |
1092 | have lookt | a lookt | |
N6 | 1287 | hee'l seeme | Sir, seeme |
N6v | 1382 | Not | Nor |
1387 | willfully | willingly | |
1415 | apply | imply | |
1483 | sometimes | sometime | |
MV | Quarto | Folio | |
O5 | 256 | shall | should |
267* | Scottish Lorde | other Lord | |
300* | I pray God graunt them | I wish them | |
O5v | 374 | won | worne |
390 | ye | he | |
450 | can | should | |
461 | for barraine | of barraine | |
464 | penaltie | penalties | |
O6 | 507* | The | This |
509 | terms | teames | |
P1 | 784* | something | somewhat |
836* | thou shalt | thou shall | |
P1va | 902 | seale | steale |
P2 | 1061 | came | comes |
1095 | Slumber | Slubber | |
P2v | 1120 | you | thou |
1160 | chaft | chaffe | |
1224* | gossip | gossips | |
P3 | 1262 | cursie | curtsie |
1269* | his reason | the reason | |
1294* | of her | ofster | |
1303* | whats | how much is | |
P3v | 1375 | doe | doth |
1412 | eye | eyes | |
1421 | tainted | tanted | |
1439 | maketh | makes |
Quarto | Folio | |||
Ado | I4 | 300 | with hir, and with her father/and thou shalt have her: wast not | with her: wast not |
323 | strange news | news | ||
328* | thus much | thus | ||
I4v | 365* | take true root | take root | |
399* | whipt me | whipt | ||
464* | say, father, as | say, as | ||
471* | an account | account | ||
I5v | 620* | thinke I tolde | thinke, tolde | |
621* | good will | will | ||
623* | him up | him | ||
651* | her terminations | terminations | ||
I6 | 756 | my minde | minde | |
864* | not I for | not for | ||
K1 | 1019* | most Christianlike | Christianlike | |
K1v | 1239* | morrow, or in the shape . . . sublet: unlesse | morrow: unlesse | |
K2 | 1262* | conclude, conclude | conclude | |
1365* | and to talke | and talke | ||
K3 | 1642 | as it may | as may | |
K3v | 1676 | do, not knowing what to do! | do! | |
K4v | 1954 | denie it | denie | |
1978* | Count, Count Comfect | Count, Comfect | ||
1993* | I leave | leave | ||
2013* | God? Both. Yea sir we hope./Kem. Write downe, . . . villaines: maisters | God: maisters | ||
K5 | 2071* | any is in | any in | |
L1 | 2587-2588 | helpe./Heere . . . Claudio.//Enter | helpe./Enter | |
2620 | died defilde | died | ||
2639* | that you | you | ||
2640* | that you | you | ||
2641 | no such matter | no matter | ||
2665* | for what I | for I | ||
LLL | L1v | 31 | bancrout quite | bankerout |
L2v | 309* | sit thee | sit | |
356 | do call | call | ||
L3 | 432* | to take | take | |
466* | too silent | silent | ||
L4 | 626 | half of, of | half, of | |
713 | O you | you | ||
M3 | 1933 | were not so | were | |
1945 | not wish | wish | ||
1970 | mirth is | mirth | ||
M3v | 2108* | do but vouchsafe | vouchsafe but | |
2127* | you yourselves | yourselves |
Quarto | Folio | |||
MND | O1 | 1537* | some some | some |
O1v | 1719 | Dem. Are you sure/that we are awake? It seemes | Dem. It seemes | |
1732* | I have had | I had | ||
O2 | 1777 | thing right | thing | |
O2v | 1944 | his trusty Thisbies | his Thisbies | |
1987 | enter now | enter | ||
MV | O4vb | 164 | doe me now more | doe more |
211* | then to be | then be | ||
216 | the fashion | fashion | ||
P1v | 977 | many men | men | |
P4v | 1676* | but see | see | |
P5 | 1809 | my my | my | |
P6vb | 2244 | it but so | it so | |
Q1v | 2463 | I pray | pray | |
2495 | the time | time | ||
Q2v | 2685 | pardon me | pardon |
Ado | I3v | 103 | doubt, sir that | doubt that |
LLL | L2 | 118* | little gate | gate |
L4v | 779 | Maister, will | will | |
858+9 | lenvoy./ I will example . . . adding foure./ The foxe | lenvoy./ The Foxe | ||
L5 | 913 | O what | What | |
L6 | 1116 | And I | I | |
1189* | tel me | tell | ||
L6v | 1261* | not, loves thee not | not, | |
1306* | royall hand | hand | ||
MND | N6v | 1384 | away./Her. I am amaz'd . . . say. Exeunt | away |
MV | O5 | 312 | praise. Howe nowe what newes? | praise. |
O6 | 591* | is but a | is a | |
O6v | 619 | Lancelot sir | Lancelot |
Quarto | Folio | |||
Ado | I4v | 379 | I make | I will make |
I5v | 646* | that | and that | |
I6 | 814* | love | a love | |
K1 | 1034 | unworthy | unworthy to have | |
K1v | 1241* | appeare | to appeare | |
K4v | 1938 | sweare | sweare by it | |
K5 | 2043 | by masse | by th'masse | |
LLL | L3v | 512 | omitted | Prin. |
M1v | 1564* | show | will show | |
M3 | 1903* | Grandam | a Grandam | |
MND | N2 | 277* | grow to | grow on to |
344* | roare | roare you | ||
N3 | 535 | West | the West | |
O1 | 1586 | Be as thou | Be thou as thou | |
MV | P4 | 1557 | is, so | is so, so |
P5a | 1893 | wife | a wife |
Quarto | Folio | |||
LLL | L2 | 118 | Clymbe | That were to clymbe |
L4v | 800* | and | and/and | |
L5 | 907* | French- | a French- | |
988* | againe | then again | ||
L6 | 1235* | whom | in whom | |
MND | N4 | 759 | shewes | her shewes |
N6 | 1247 | your words | your passionate words | |
MV | O5 | 243* | rather be | rather to be |
O5v | 480 | pleaseth | it pleaseth | |
P1 | 738 | sute | a sute |
Notes
Probably the best survey of earlier research on the First Folio compositors is the Preface to Charlton Hinman's Norton Facsimile of the First Folio of Shakespeare (1968), pp. xv-xx.
T. H. Howard-Hill, "The Compositors of Shakespeare's Folio Comedies," SB, 26 (1973), 61-106; and my own "Compositors D and F of the Shakespeare First Folio," SB, 28 (1975), 81-117.
Textual Problems of the First Folio (1953), pp. 8-12. The most recent work on Compositor B is by S. W. Reid, "Justification and Spelling in Jaggard's Compositor B," SB, 27 (1974), 91-112, and "Some Spellings of Compositor B in the Shakespeare First Folio," SB, 29 (1976), 102-138.
Two of the changes by Compositor D were probably editorial: on O5 'Scottish Lorde' is changed to 'other Lord,' and 'I pray God graunt them' is changed to 'I wish them.'
Rowe's emendation, defended by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, Merry Wives of Windsor, New Cambridge Shakespeare (1921), has been generally accepted. However, H. C. Hart in the first Arden edition (1904) disputes the need for an emendation.
Pope's emendation has been accepted by Peter Alexander (1951), R. A. Foakes in the New Arden (1962), and G. Blakemore Evans, The Riverside Shakespeare (1974), among others.
Capell's emendation, challenged by Collier, has not won general acceptance by modern editors, however.
Dover Wilson, NCS, accepted by R. A. Foakes in the New Arden (1962) and G. B. Evans, The Riverside Shakespeare (1974), among others. Peter Alexander changes the second help to hap.
This emendation is challenged by H. J. Oliver in the New Arden (1971), but is accepted by Fredson Bowers, Complete Penguin Shakespeare (1969).
Bald, Complete Penguin Shakespeare (1969); Evans, New Riverside Shakespeare (1974); Lever, New Arden (1965). Pope inserted 'I have found' and Dyce 'oft have found'; possibly Lever's so should come at the end of the line, where it would be even easier to omit.
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