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The foregoing table lists the sixty-three editions with the number of new readings originated by each edition in toto and in the different categories. The second column lists the total number of new readings, the third column the number of those new readings that appear in Evans, and the fourth column the number that appear in Alexander. The fifth column records the new readings in the 457 variant passages, and the figure in parentheses indicates how many of those major new readings appear in Evans' edition. The other eight columns tabulate the new readings in each category (followed, in parentheses, by the number of those readings that appear in Evans). Where there is no figure in parentheses in columns five through thirteen, there are no new readings in Evans. Because the numbers for transposition,[10] miscellaneous, word form, and spelling variants are small and comparatively lacking in significance, these four categories have been combined into two.[11]
| Character | Punctuation | Lineation | SDD etc. | Tr. & Misc. | Form & Sp. | Metrics | |
| C1 | 1 | 114 (11) | 0 | 9 (2) | 1 | 13 (2) | 46 (1)[12] |
| Ri | 0 | 10 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ki | 0 | 58 (6) | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 (3) | 2 (2) |
| NH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al | 0 | 12 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Si | 1 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 (1) | 2 |
| NA | 0 | 167 (10) | 1 | 2 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
| Lo | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| NY | 0 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| C2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ev | 0 | 9 (9) | 1 (1) | 3 (3) | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 (1) |
The table shows the heavy dependence of the modern text on editions before 1800. Thus, of Evans' readings in the 2583 passages recorded, 1479 come from the authoritative text (Q1), 465 from other seventeenth-century editions, 425 from eighteenth-century editions, 116 from nineteenth-century editions, 81 from other twentieth-century editions, and 17 from no previous text collated. Alexander follows the authoritative text less often (1354 times), uses more from other seventeenth-century editions (540), more from the eighteenth century (515), about the same amount from the nineteenth century (114), and less from his twentieth-century predecessors (43); he too seems to originate 17 readings. In 457 major variants, Evans follows Q1 370 times, other seventeenth-century texts 31 times, eighteenth-century texts 37 times, nineteenth-century texts 12 times, previous twentieth-century texts 6 times, and no text collated once.
After 1700, the largest number of new readings was originated by Rowe in his three editions (401), followed by Capell (330), Pope (298), Theobald (239), New Cambridge (200), New Arden (175), Collier (128), and Dyce (121). The largest number adopted by Evans was originated by Rowe (115), followed by Capell (102), Theobald (84), Pope (61), and Johnson (34); the same five editors supplied the largest number used by Alexander. One edition originated no new readings (Old Cambridge II), and nine more editions contributed no new readings used by either Evans or Alexander (Johnson-Steevens II, Boswell-Malone, Hudson II, Rolfe II, Oxford, Old Arden, London, New Yale, and New Cambridge II). Only sixteen editions supplied more than one major reading (in 457 passages) adopted by Evans: Q1, Q2, F1, F2, Q3, F4, Rowe I, Pope I, Theobald I, Johnson, Capell, Knight, Collier I, Hudson I, Old Cambridge I, and New Cambridge I. (The list for Alexander would add Malone and exclude Hudson I and
Of eighteenth-century editors, Rowe in his three editions supplied the most new readings in verbal variants (95) and the most adopted by Evans (13); Pope in his two editions contributed 86 (10 adopted); and Capell added 42 (8 adopted). In the nineteenth century Collier originated 30 in two editions (most of the 24 in Collier II are from the Perkins Folio) with one adopted, and Eccles, Dyce, and Keightley invented ten or more; the largest number adopted (three) was supplied by the Old Cambridge editors. The New Cambridge edition and Sisson have added the most new verbal readings in the twentieth century. In characters' names Rowe (16) and Capell (15) have added the most, with little contribution from others. In punctuation, Capell (170), Theobald (159), and Rowe (146) originated the most readings, and the same three in a different order (Theobald, Capell, Rowe) contributed the most to Evans' text. In lineation, Pope and Capell supplied the largest number of new readings and the largest number of contributions to the modern text. In stage directions, scene divisions, and locales, Rowe, Capell, Theobald, Pope, and Dyce have originated most; and Rowe, Capell, Theobald, Dyce, and Old Cambridge have contributed most to modern texts.[13] In every category, the quartos, folios, and eighteenth-century editors supplied the basic material, with fewer additions during the nineteenth century; new readings have appeared in the twentieth century but have not yet become established in the text.
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