 | |  |
Notes
"The Compositors of Hamlet Q2 and The Merchant of Venice," Studies in Bibliography, VII (1955), 17-40.
In addition to Brown's article cited above, see, among others, Frank S. Hook, "The Two Compositors in the First Quarto of Peele's Edward I," Studies in Bibliography, VII (1955), 170-177; and Harry R. Hoppe, The Bad Quarto of Romeo and Juliet (1948), pp. 46-56.
"Compositorial Determination and other Problems in Shakespearian Texts," Studies in Bibliography, VII (1955), 7.
Further evidence may definitely confirm that Compositor X set L1r and L4v in Hamlet. Throughout this book the two compositors differ in their treatment of the spacing between the speech prefix and the first word of the line of text which follows. Compositor Y generally placed exactly the same amount of space—approximately two millimeters—after the speech prefix before setting the first word of the speech. Compositor X generally varied the amount of spacing after the speech prefixes in order to align the first letters of the speeches vertically, regardless of the length of the speech prefix. A ruler placed along the initial letter of the first word in each speech will indicate the uniform indentation of X's settings. This practice is most easily observable on pages where a great many short speeches occur in succession, but its value as bibliographical evidence is naturally obviated to a large extent when the speech prefixes are of the same length. Sig. F1r is an ideal example of X's practice; E4v, en face, is illustrative of Y's. This evidence, along with the spelling differences remarked by Mr. Brown, set L1r and L4v apart from the remainder of the sheet. Unfortunately, this practice of X's does not appear in either Titus or The Merchant of Venice.
It is admittedly possible that what are considered characteristic spellings for one of the compositors may not be personal preferences, but may reflect the scribal copy-spellings of the manuscript underneath. This could be so if all of the copy for Hamlet and The Merchant, for instance, was in the hand of the same scribe, and if one of the compositors was a faithful follower of copy. The other workman, then, altered according to his personal bent. Two different spellings of the same word therefore result, one of them a retained scribal spelling, the other a compositorial variant. For that matter, as far as we know now, this possible unequal influence of copy-spellings on the two men may very well have been one of the reasons why so many of the apparent characteristics for X and Y fade out and are invalid in other (mostly prose) books which Mr. Brown examined (pp. 34-37), particularly since the copy for these other books must have been of varied nature. Without further evidence, however, this is undemonstrable. Reprint work, of course, offers more substantial evidence since the original edition serves as a control.
In two instances, once on F4v and once on K1, Compositor Y added an apostrophe, changing the spelling from Ile to I'le.
As will be seen later, all 11 pages on which Ile is copied from Q1 are confirmed by other evidence for Y.
In The Merchant, Y uses the ampersand 10 times to only three times for X; in Hamlet, Y uses it 29 times; X, 12 times.
The tilde is used three times in Hamlet (G4, K2v, L2v) and twice in The Merchant (B1v, H1); all are on Y-pages.
Compositor Y sets dooing three times in The Merchant (B3, F3, F4v), twice in Hamlet (G4, L4); he sets doone seven times in Hamlet (G4, H1v, H2v, K1v(2), M4(2)); Compositor X does not use either of these spellings. Y sets doost 12 times: 10 times in Hamlet (G3, G4v, H3, K2, M2v, M3(2), M3v, M4v, M2), and twice in The Merchant (D3, H3); X sets it only twice in Hamlet (F1v, N2) and three times in The Merchant (C2v, E1, G2v).
Both X and Y are normally doe-spellers; however, X uses the do-form only once, in Hamlet on C1v, whereas Y uses the shorter form 10 times in Hamlet, on G3, G3v, H1, H2, H2v, H4(4), K2v, and five times in The Merchant, on A2, A4v(2), D1v, and F4v.
Compositor Y uses the ee-form of greefe, etc. four times in Hamlet (E3v, G3v, G4, H2), in addition to using the ie-spelling; X, on the other hand, always uses the ie-spelling.
Ampersands are also copied by Y from Q1 on B1v, C4, and H2, all pages in need of support. The spelling dooings is also copied on A4, a strong Y-page.
The copy-spelling of Bassianus is retained, characteristically, by Y fourteen times (A2(3), A2v, B1v, B2v, C1v, D1, D1v(2), D4(2), I1(2)), and it is evident that he preferred that spelling. Sig. A2v is the only page attributed to Y on the sole basis of this copy-spelling; it contains no other evidence. Bascianus is retained by X six times, on B4v(4), C4v, and D3. Y retains this spelling four times, on C3v, C4, D1, and D1v. It is also retained on C3 (see footnote 22).
In addition, the retained copy-spelling of hither appears also to be somewhat significant for X, although there is no support for it in the other two plays. It occurs on E4v, H1, H2v(2), H4, K3v and K4, of which only H2v (with a retained Ile) conflicts. On the other hand, the change of hither to hether on D1v, D2, F1, I4v, and K2v, seems to be a definite factor for Y, at least in this play (see Brown, p. 38).
Two copy-spellings of the word Deare are duplicated from Q1 by Y on E3v where both uses are involved in a pun on deer/dear.
The spelling Here's (here is), normally a Y-form, occurs on sig.H4, but this example has not been listed with the other instances of this spelling as it appears to have a peculiar history. A probable conjecture is that the compositor set Her's, faithfully following the Q1 error, then, realizing the line was somewhat garbled, added the single e to correct the sense, careless of his customary spelling. If this conjecture is true, this example obviously can not be used as evidence for either compositor.
No stage directions of this category appear on 36 pages. The evidence on B4, F4, G1, G1v, and K1v is mixed. Each of these pages contain more than one stage direction, some centered, some not.
Excluded from consideration are those speech prefixes which are centered in the page above the characters' speeches on A2, A2v, A3, and I1v, an aberrant practice duplicated from Q1. This type of speech prefix would not normally be abbreviated.
| | |