University of Virginia Library

I. The Composition

1. Compositor Determination. It has been assumed that the second quarto of Romeo and Juliet was set by one compositor, but this opinion is contraverted by several kinds of bibliographical evidence. Variant compositorial characteristics suggest the presence of two compositors, and the mechanical evidence of the press-work corroborates that suggestion.

The evidence from typographical practices is of four kinds. The first concerns the setting of proper names in stage directions. In this quarto proper names in stage directions appear generally in distinguishing type (roman) on 35 signatures; for example: A4: Enter old Capulet in his gowne, and his wife. B4: Enter Capulets Wife and Nurse.[2] F2v: Enter Mercutio, Benuolio, and men. I2: Enter Frier and Countie Paris.[3]

However, on five signatures — A3v, A4, K3v, L4, and L4v — proper names in non-distinguishing type (italic) occur as follows: A3v: Enter Benuolio. A4: Enter Tibalt. K3v: Enter Will Kemp. L4: Enter Romeos man. L4v: Enter Capels. / Enter Capulet and his wife. / Enter Mountague.

A second kind of evidence is found in the forms of certain speech prefixes. On pages L3v and M1 appears the prefix "Frier" in that fully spelled-out form, eight times on L3v and twice on M1. Only this form is found on these pages, but in the rest of the book "Frier" never occurs; instead, the prefix appears 43 times (including two catchwords[4]) in the short form "Fri."[5] In a similar manner the spelled-out form "Peter" occurs once on E3 and ten times on K3v. The abbreviated form "Pet." occurs on E4 (once), E4v (once), and L2 (twice). On K3v the speech prefixes "Minstrels" (1), "Minstrel" (1), and "Minst." (5) appear seven times (once as a catchword); on K4 the form is "Min." (1). Again, on K3v occurs the prefix "Fidler" (1); on K3 the form is "Fid." (1).[6] The short forms, "Fid." on K3 and "Min." on K4,

are in marked contrast to the long forms on K3v and bracket that page. Though other instances of fully spelled-out prefixes occur, no comparable concentration of these forms exists in the quarto.

The third kind of evidence is provided by the catchword when it happens to be a speech prefix. On 25 pages in the quarto the catchword indicates the beginning of a new speech on the top of the following page. On 22 of these pages the form of the catchword consists of the speech prefix and the first word of the speech (e.g., K2v Fri. Peace).[7] On two occasions the catchword consists of the prefix only: F2v Mer., K3v Minst. On one occasion the catchword consists of the first word of the speech only: B1v But.[8]

The fourth kind of evidence is provided by the catchword when it is juxtaposed with a stage direction directly above it. This situation occurs thrice in the quarto. On I4v and on K3 the stage direction and the catchword appear in contiguous lines; on K3v the direction "Exit" is separated from the catchword "Minst." by an intervening line of quads, though such an insertion results in a page of abnormal length (39 linear spaces).

It will be noticed that on several pages the first three categories of evidence are conflicting. Thus on A4 there is one stage direction with proper names in italic type, three with names in roman; on E3 there is the long prefix "Peter" at the first appearance of the speaker, but there is also a catchword composed of a prefix and the first word of a speech; on F2v there is a catchword composed of a prefix only, but there are also two stage directions containing proper names in roman type. And on A3v, though there is no conflict, it is evident that the stage direction "Enter Benuolio.", by virtue of its unique position on a line of dialogue — not set off, constitutes a special case in the quarto.

If we then confine ourselves here to those pages on which no conflicts occur, we may tabulate the clear evidence thus:

The four kinds of typographical evidence combine to distinguish signature K3v markedly and to connect that page with the seriatim group grouped and seem actually to indicate a second hand, we tentatively posit a second workman for these pages, Compositor B. To Compositor A we assign the greater portion of the work. Spelling tests will clarify the distinction further.

Since it is on signature K3v that the typographical evidence most strongly indicates the presence of a second compositor, we may look to that page first in an attempt to discover spelling differences that distinguish it from the other pages of the quarto. Two words, "dry" and "cry", appear at once to set K3v off from the general pattern of the book and at the same time connect it with pages L4 and L4v, already tentatively assigned to Compositor B on typographical evidence.

         

dry-beate	K3v	drie beate	F3v
		drie	D4v, G3, H3v, K3
cry	K3v	crie	D1, E3, L4v
descry	L4
outcry	L4v

The use of the termination -y for these short forms is in marked contrast to the spellings in the rest of the quarto of these particular forms (as indicated in the list above) and of similar or related forms (as indicated in the list below):

• alie F4
• defie L2v
• denie C3, D2, D3, I2v, K4
• flie C1, G1, G4(2), L2v
• prie L2
• replie I1
• spie F2v, I3
• trie I4(2)

The instances of these endings point to a decided preference on the part of Compositor B for the -y spelling and an exclusive preference on the part of Compositor A for the -ie spelling of these short forms.[9]

Since the evidence of this -y /-ie spelling difference confirms the evidence of the typographical practices on pages K3v, L4, and L4v, we feel confident in examining Compositor B's five pages together, including pages L3v and M1 that share the same practices, for additional -y / -ie variations. A pattern similar to that for the short forms is found in the termination of nouns, verbs, and adjectives:

• K3v merie, cary, mary, mercy, speedy
• L3v vnthriftie, stony, goarie, guiltie

---

111




• L4 happy, bloudie, Countie, safetie
• L4v County, emptie
• M1 Citie, Countie

The proportion in these is ten -ie forms to seven -y forms. When this ration is applied to spelling on the pages of the rest of the book, it is seen that one page, L3, maintains the same proportion: L3: merie, bewtie, bloudie, enemie, Appothecarie, vnsauoury, weary, Appothecary. We therefore assign this page also to Compositor B on the ground of this spelling distinction. In these six pages there are then 15 -ie forms and 10 -y forms of the endings of nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

On the other hand, with the exception of such words as "any", "many", "every", "ready", and "already", and such special cases as "Lady" and "body", Compositor A in the larger portion of the book sets nouns, verbs, and adjectives with terminal -ie almost exclusively. Of 270 instances of relevant forms on the 83 pages that we think were set by Compositor A, only twelve variants from the -ie spelling are noted:[10]

• A1 sundry, Burby
• C2 watry
• D2 liuery (liuerie, F3)
• E4 penny
• G4 vnworthy
• G4v sympathy
• H4v vnworthy, worthy
• I4 harlottry
• K4v penury
• L1 hurry

The distinction is even clearer in the use of adverbs and adjectives ending in -ly or -lie. Of the ten instances of these modifiers in the work of Compositor B, two adverbs on signature L4 end with -lie: "Happlie" and "newlie". Compositor A employs the -ly termination almost exclusively and, in contrast to the Compositor B forms, sets for example: "happily" H4, I2v; and "newly" A1, G1. In a passage in the second quarto demonstrably set from the first quarto (see below) Compositor A changes Q1 "louelie" and "liuelie" to his preferred forms "louely" and "liuely" B3v. Of 136 instances of suitable forms on the pages of Compositor A, all occur with the -ly ending with three exceptions: "earlie" C2v, C4v (cf. "early" passim); "solie" E3 (cf. "soly" E2v, immediately preceding).[11]

The evidence may be summed up thus:

       

	Compositor A	Compositor B
Short Forms	Exclusive -ie	Prefers -y
Nouns, verbs, adjectives	Much prefers -ie	Indifferent
Adverbs, adjectives in -ly	Exclusive -ly	Indifferent

Though this single spelling variant serves generally to distinguish the work of the two compositors in this play, there are particular spellings on each of the six pages of Compositor B that contribute further to this distinction.

                                             

Compositor B	Compositor A
K3v	merie (L3)	merrie B3v, B4v, I3v, (merie I4), K1v
	cary	carrie A3
	yron (2)	iron L1v, L2
	musique (4)	musick (e) C3, D4, F1, F2, K1v(2)
	mary	marrie B4v(2), C4, E1v, H4v, I2, I3 (2), I3v, I4
L3	point	poynt F4v(2), G1, K1, K1v
	merie (K3v)	[see above]
	staie	stay [throughout]
	dym	dim I1v
L3v	Whoes	whose G4v
	Master	maister [throughout]
	entents	intents L2 (2), L4
	yong	young [throughout][12]
	heere (L4, M1)	here [throughout]
	hower (M1)	houre [throughout]
	nest	neast F1v
L4	poison	poyson B3, E1, G2, G4, H4, K1, K4v (2) L1 (3), L4, M1
	Pittifull	pitifull K3
	heere (L3v, M1)	[see above]
L4v	maners	manner (s, ly) C2v, C4, I3v
M1	foorth	forth A2, A4v, D4v, G3v (2), H1v, I4v, K2, L1, M1v
	heere (L3v, L4)	[see above]

       

Compositor B	Compositor A
mariage	marriage D3v, E1v, F1, H1v, I1v, I2, K1, M1, M1v
stayed	staid H1v, L1
hower (L3v)	[see above]

One other characteristic may be mentioned, though deduced from negative evidence only. In Compositor A's pages the single -e form of the personal pronoun and the verb occur regularly, but the double -ee form appears twenty-one times; Compositor B's pages in this quarto contain only the single -e form: hee, shee, mee, wee, yee: B2(2), B2v(2), B3, B4(2), C4v, E2(2), E3v(2), F2v, F3v, H2v(2), I2v, I4, L1v / bee: B3, D3v.

It seems clear that the spelling evidence corroborates the typographical evidence in distinguishing the work of two compositors in Q2 Romeo and Juliet.[13] Signatures K3v, L3v, L4, L4v, and M1, tentatively assigned to a second compositor on typographical evidence, may be confirmed by spelling evidence. To them signature L3 may be added on spelling evidence alone since the nature of the text here admits none of the typographical evidence (no stage directions, no speech prefixes, no prefix catchword). The three pages noted earlier on which there were conflicts of typographical evidence are confirmed by spelling evidence as not belonging to the second compositor, Compositor B, and the three conflicts in question may be attributed to chance or to the oversight of the principal compositor, Compositor A.

2. The Printing Process. The quarto is printed with two skeleton formes recurring in regular sequence throughout sheets B through K.[14] In these sheets one skeleton is used for the inner forme, the other skeleton for the outer; they alternate on the press seriatim. The two running titles for the inner forme of sheet A (I and II) are used in the outer forme in sheets B-K, and one of the titles (II) is also used in the outer forme of sheet A.

The sequence of two alternating skeletons is consistent through sheet K, with the following exceptions: a turn of the inner skeleton at the imposition of sheet E and a turn back at sheet K; similarly a turn of the outer skeleton at sheet E and a turn back at the imposition of sheet G. The outer-forme running title I is replaced or reset in F (I'), and titles II and III seem to have been readjusted after loosening.

After sheet K this sequence is observed:

It will be noted that the outer forme of sheet L breaks the previously established pattern by utilizing the skeleton (here turned) that has been regularly working the inner forme and simultaneously discards the usual running title (VII) that has been used in the inner skeleton. The rejection of running title VII and the use of title II in the respective quarter of the outer forme of sheet L suggest that signature L4v had been set complete with running title II and its furniture before the other three quarters of L outer were ready for imposition; and further, that title II was available for such imposition because it had previously been discarded from sheet M, which must therefore have been imposed before L outer.

This evidence from running titles can be explained only with great difficulty as accompanying the work of one compositor; but a reasonable explanation may be offered by resorting to the hypothesis of a second press, and thus of a second compositor. The presence of the second compositor in sheet L, strongly suggested by the evidence already advanced, is then confirmed at the same point in the quarto by the evidence of the press-work. The compositorial and the mechanical

evidence in conjunction leave little doubt as to the presence of a second compositor or the extent of his work.

A conjectural time table may now be set up for sheets K, L, and M, indicating the pages set by the two compositors and the passage of the formes through the press.

From this information we may visualize something of the situation in the shop. As Compositor A approached the end of page K3, Compositor B concluded his work on another job and became available to assist him. Compositor B accordingly set page K3v while Compositor A set K4, in that manner making the inner forme of sheet K ready for the press at the earliest possible moment. (The inference is that Compositor A was near the end of K3, for had he been near the beginning of that page, Compositor B could have set K4v and thus made ready first the outer rather than the inner forme. But perhaps this hypothesis is too nice.) After completing K3v Compositor B proceeded to set the second half of sheet L and, while K inner was printing, took the skeleton generally used for the outer forme and imposed it around K outer for his press. His press then perfected sheet K. When Compositor A had finished setting signature L2, he imposed and sent to his press the pages for L inner (two set by each compositor) in the regular inner forme skeleton which had just been used for K inner. Meanwhile Compositor B set type through M1, but he imposed half-sheet M for his press to print in the skeleton from K outer that his press had just released. In making this imposition he removed running title II and the furniture for that page, not needed for sheet M, and fixed them around L4v, which he had recently set and placed on the imposing stone. When Compositor A came to impose L outer in the skeleton that his press had been using for L inner, he found L4v with a running title already in position. He therefore removed from his skeleton the now unneeded running title VII.

Such a schedule should not be construed as exact, but it explains with some margin for error the time sequence of the order of the formes through the press.[15] It also confirms the presence of a second compositor in certain specific pages at the close of the quarto.

One other curiosity of this quarto may be mentioned. It appears

that Compositor A made a preliminary estimate of the length of his copy on the basis of 37 linear spaces to the page.[16] He was consistent in setting this number of lines from A3v to H4v with these exceptions: 36 spaces on B4, C4, and G2; 38 spaces on E2v.

At the beginning of Sheet I, Compositor A readjusted his practice so as to set 38 lines to the page, saving thereby an amount of space equal to 27 lines of text at the maximum. In sheets I and K he was faithful to his new count, varying only once by setting 37 spaces on page K2. Compositor B, as has been noted, set 39 lines on K3v in order to separate the stage direction from the catchword. Copy was cast off after sheet K with some care so that Compositor B could set the second half of sheet L beginning with L3. Compositor A set 38 lines for L1 and L2 and 37 lines for L1v and L2v; Compositor B set 39 lines for L3 (in order to begin L3v with the stage direction) and 38 lines for L3v, L4, and L4v. The two full pages of sheet M are set 37 lines.