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A Qualitative Analysis of Compositors C and D in the Shakespeare First Folio by John S. O'Connor
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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


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plays, and dropping out completely after MM. Compositor A began his work in the Folio with WT, and continued through the Histories and Tragedies. Compositor C and D may have worked only in the Comedies, with Compositor C setting 96 pages and Compositor D 41 pages. Although Compositors C and D are not so important as Compositor B, I have chosen to focus on them because we know nothing about the quality of their work; moreover, methods and generalizations developed while working on these more manageable compositors can then be adapted to the others. Also, by working with these two compositors, I can contrast their very different styles and offer a meaningful comparative analysis. For instance, the fact that Compositor D transposes words once in 25 pages becomes more significant when compared with the fact that Compositor C transposes words once every two pages. I have limited this study to substantive changes because this is the most significant compositorial evidence for editors.

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  8.5  9.5 
Transpositions  19 
Substitutions  55  58  31  30  174  10  19  15  26  70 
Omissions  30  12  10  58  13 
Interpolations  16 
total  96  77  44  50  267  15  29  16  33  93 

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These categories allow us to spot some of the specific habits of each compositor, and thus to perceive more clearly their basic differences in method.

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.

TRANSPOSITIONS BY COMPOSITOR C

                                       
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


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verse, his transpositions are nearly impossible to detect without referring to his copy. A few of his transpositions are obviously errors, as on O4v, 219, and P6v, 2223. Apparently Compositor C would read a line and then set it from memory, thereby occasionally changing the word order while retaining the sense of the line. Compositor D, on the other hand, kept checking his copy and rarely misread the word order.

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


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nature of the copy or position in the quire, for instance); rather Compositor C seems to be more erratic.

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 
nouns and verbs  76  36 
proper nouns  11 
in prose  59  29 
There are, of course, other possible categories, but these reveal some of the striking features of Compositor C's and D's substitutions. Over three-fourths of Compositor D's changes are of the orthographical sort. He had a particular fondness for omitting or adding a final s; nearly 20% of all his substitutions involve a final s. Compositor D consistently misread the word in his copy and composed a word that looks similar but means something different. Line 1415 in MND is a good example: "Whiles I in this affair do thee imply" (Q: apply); or line 509 in MV: "I like not faire teames, and a villaines mind" (Q: terms). This kind of error is easier to spot than are memorial slips and, when we know that Compositor D habitually makes such errors, easier to emend.

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


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this kind of slip is the mixing of pronouns on M3v (you for her, 2083, and you for we, 2122), where Boyet is acting as a go-between for the two sets of lovers. Compositor C cannot match Boyet's ability to change the pronoun as he repeats the speech.[6] As one might expect of memorial slips, Compositor C changes the less significant connectives and qualifiers more often than the nouns and verbs.

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:

illustration
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


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improvements. As one might expect, Compositor C omits words more frequently than Compositor D. He also is significantly more careless on some of his pages than others; over half of his omissions occur on eight of his forty-two pages. (See chart in Appendix II.)

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:

illustration
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


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space problems. On L1, where Compositor C omitted a whole line because of lack of space, he also cut words in lines 2639, 2640, and 2641, rather than have each verse extend onto a second line. Similarly, Compositor D dropped a word on L4v, where he also had omitted whole lines. If he had included 'maister' in line 779, he would have had to use two lines rather than one. Omissions due to spacing problems are few, however; most omissions by both compositors are simply careless errors.

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]

illustration
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


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other two occasions, where he keeps the meter regular, he substantially changes the line. On L2 he has changed the quarto, 'Clymbe ore the house to unlocke the little gate' to 'That were to clymbe ore the house to unlocke the gate.' The change seems pointless; neither his interpolation nor his omission is an improvement over the original, nor does there seem to be some circumstantial reason for the change. The addition of passionate on N6 is a similar mystery. Although interpolations are not as important as the other kinds of changes, they provide a neat final example of how these compositors differ: Compositor D adds words in verse more often than in prose and spoils the regular meter; Compositor C adds words in prose more often than in verse and supports a regular meter.

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


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upon's (because it is more awkward than now's, though it does appear elsewhere in the Folio) is a likely instance.

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.


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Bald and G. Blakemore Evans, have left this line alone, but I think J. W. Lever is right in asserting that a monosyllable has been dropped.[16] Spacing is not the only possible reason for the omission; the Folio line has ten syllables and would satisfy Compositor C's usual desire for a regular line. Unfortunately, our knowledge of Compositor C's habits does not help in this instance to select an emendation.

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.


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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.


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APPENDIX I SUBSTITUTIONS BY COMPOSITOR C

                                                                                                                                                                                                       
(* 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*  of 
431  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 
714  her  my 
729*  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  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 
2680*  reverent  reverend 
LLL  
L1v   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  An 
665  will  would 
669  within  in 
672  faire  farther 
677  none  owne 
696*  and you  if you 
702  on 
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 

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Ado   Quarto   Folio  
M2  1643  gainst  against 
1712  Let us  Let's 
M2v   1795*  wane  wave 
1833*  importunt  importunate 
M3  1895  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 
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 
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  
O4v 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 
P5v 1886  in  Is 
P6v 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 

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SUBSTITUTIONS BY COMPOSITOR D

                                                                                                                                                           
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 
P1v 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 

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APPENDIX II OMISSIONS BY COMPOSITOR C

                                                                                     
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 

73

Page 73
                                 
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   O4v 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 
P6v 2244  it but so  it so 
Q1v   2463  I pray  pray 
2495  the time  time 
Q2v   2685  pardon me  pardon 

OMISSIONS BY COMPOSITOR D

                         
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 
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  

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APPENDIX III INTERPOLATIONS BY COMPOSITOR C

                                 
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 

INTERPOLATIONS BY COMPOSITOR D

                     
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

 
[1]

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.

[2]

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.

[3]

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.

[4]

I have not included the most obvious substitutions of inverted or reversed type.

[*]

long lines

[5]

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.'

[6]

Other examples of the context influencing his errors are on N2, 258 and 262; and N3v.

[7]

I4, 351; I5, 547; I6, 824; K2, 1324; L1v, 2; L3, 432; L4, 696; O4v, 201 and 216; and P5, 1843.

[8]

L4, 669; M2, 1712; N2, 253; Q1, 2372. He may also reline O1v, 1719 to make a pentameter line.

[9]

Note in Variorum by H. H. Furness (ed.), Much Ado About Nothing, p. 151.

[10]

Note in Variorum by H. H. Furness (ed.), Love's Labour's Lost, p. 58.

[11]

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.

[12]

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.

[13]

Capell's emendation, challenged by Collier, has not won general acceptance by modern editors, however.

[14]

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.

[15]

This emendation is challenged by H. J. Oliver in the New Arden (1971), but is accepted by Fredson Bowers, Complete Penguin Shakespeare (1969).

[16]

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.

[17]

This list comes from R. A. Foakes's historical collation in the New Arden (1962).

[18]

New Arden (1965).

[19]

Another popular emendation was 'from brakes of vice' (Steevens). Alexander (1951) and Bald (1969) adopt 'breaks of Ice'; Lever (1965) and Evans (1974) keep 'brakes of Ice.'

[20]

Other changes are terms to teams (O6, 509) and spoke to speake (I3v, 220).