Implications
A fresh look at the two versions of Henry V, in part
aided
by a computer analysis, contributes substantial new evidence to the view
that Q Henry V originated as both a deliberate abridgment
and
a memorial reconstruction by actors who had taken part in the play. But my
study reverses the commonly held view of the order of these two processes,
for the players must have based their reconstruction on performances linked
to the Folio version, not an intermediate and possibly authorized
abridgment. The obvious signs of deliberate abridgment, then, were
incorporated in the reporter/adapters' reconstruction, not derived from a
(possibly authorized) theatrical abridgment that might have preceded the
Quarto.
The implications are especially significant for editors, theater
historians, and directors. As Gary Taylor pointed out in "Corruption and
Authority in the Bad Quarto" (1979), the fluctuating correlation between Q
and F helps identify the most likely reporters; it also allows an editor to
evaluate which variants are likely to have authority in Q, for variants in
closely parallel segments of Q may represent Shakespeare's intentions. If
Q was reconstructed directly from a script linked to the Folio, these
sections take on greater authority than if Q were based on an intermediate
abridgment, making them even more useful to editors. Staging details in the
Quarto, of particular interest to theater historians and directors, may
preserve elements of the Globe staging rather than that of an abridgment,
increasing the value of the Quarto.
The cuts and other alterations in Q—probably the first deliberate
abridgment of Henry V, designed, perhaps, as a promptbook for use in
performances outside London—could also be of considerable interest
to
directors who themselves may need to prune the text for a particular
theatrical purpose.
But at the same time, the authority of the alterations in Q decreases
if the Quarto was reconstructed and abridged by actor/adapters. Gary
Taylor, believing that Q may preserve a theatrical abridgment used by
Shakespeare's company, argued that it contained a number of features that
might have been approved by Shakespeare himself, including the
substitution of Bourbon for the Dauphin in the Agincourt scenes, the
replacement of Westmorland by Warwick, even the addition of Pistol's
"Coup'la gorge" at the end of 4.6.[30]
He incorporated each of these features of the Quarto (and others) in his two
recent Oxford editions of Henry V. If, instead of
Shakespeare,
reporter/ adapters were alone responsible for these and other alterations in
Q, their authority clearly diminishes. Although these changes are intriguing
and significant since they characterize a version of Henry V
printed in England in Shakespeare's time, they may be inappropriate in the
text of an edition of Henry V that seeks to communicate
Shakespeare's intentions.
Appendix
Table A: Henry V Folio Spoken Lines in Various
Correlation Categories
|
FX (F Only) |
FA (All) |
FM (Most) |
FS (Some) |
FP (Paraphrase) |
F Total |
| All characters |
1593 |
560 |
693 |
380 |
27 |
3253 |
| Henry |
474 |
198 |
239 |
118 |
11 |
1040 |
| Fluellen |
67 |
27 |
105 |
71 |
5 |
275 |
| Canterbury |
114 |
53 |
48 |
8 |
0 |
223 |
| Chorus |
223 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
223 |
| Pistol |
35 |
53 |
45 |
15 |
2 |
150 |
| Constable |
78 |
13 |
22 |
11 |
0 |
124 |
| Exeter |
12 |
73 |
34 |
8 |
0 |
127 |
| Dauphin |
74 |
11 |
24 |
8 |
0 |
117 |
| Charles |
67 |
2 |
11 |
13 |
2 |
95 |
| Williams |
22 |
8 |
23 |
18 |
1 |
72 |
| Boy |
38 |
8 |
12 |
10 |
1 |
69 |
| Burgundy |
64 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
68 |
| Gower |
23 |
27 |
14 |
3 |
0 |
67 |
| Katherine |
29 |
9 |
6 |
16 |
0 |
60 |
| Montjoy |
24 |
7 |
10 |
11 |
0 |
52 |
| Orleans |
32 |
11 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
49 |
| Nym |
9 |
10 |
21 |
6 |
0 |
46 |
| Quickly |
4 |
9 |
15 |
13 |
0 |
41 |
| Ely |
26 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
33 |
| Bardolph |
8 |
3 |
5 |
14 |
0 |
30 |
| Alice |
13 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
27 |
| Isabel |
23 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
24 |
| MacMorris |
19 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
19 |
| Westmorland |
9 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
19 |
| Grandpre |
18 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
| Bates |
10 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
17 |
| Fr. Ambassador |
0 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
17 |
| Cambridge |
8 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
15 |
| French Soldier |
8 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
15 |
| Scrope |
0 |
8 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
| Grey |
6 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| Jamy |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
| Bedford |
6 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
| Bourbon |
1 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
9 |
| Britanny |
4 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
| Rambures |
6 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
| Salisbury |
4 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
| Erpingham |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
| Fr. Messenger |
3 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| Governor |
0 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| Gloucester |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
| Court |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| Eng. Herald |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| York |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Warwick |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Beaumont |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Berri |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Clarence |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Second Fr. Amb. |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Gebon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Lord |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Table B: Henry V Quarto Spoken Lines in Various
Correlation Categories
|
QX (Q Only) |
QA (All) |
QM (Most) |
QS (Some) |
QP (Paraphrase) |
Q Total |
| All characters |
55 |
624 |
735 |
183 |
32 |
1629 |
| Henry |
14 |
215 |
266 |
44 |
11 |
550 |
| Fluellen |
6 |
39 |
109 |
36 |
7 |
197 |
| Canterbury |
0 |
55 |
48 |
3 |
0 |
106 |
| Chorus |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Pistol |
4 |
64 |
42 |
6 |
0 |
116 |
| Constable |
2 |
19 |
26 |
9 |
0 |
56 |
| Exeter |
1 |
70 |
35 |
2 |
0 |
108 |
| Dauphin |
0 |
9 |
10 |
3 |
0 |
22 |
| Charles |
5 |
4 |
12 |
6 |
5 |
32 |
| Williams |
1 |
11 |
23 |
10 |
1 |
46 |
| Boy |
2 |
11 |
15 |
2 |
0 |
30 |
| Burgundy |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
| Gower |
0 |
29 |
15 |
1 |
0 |
45 |
| Katherine |
6 |
6 |
9 |
11 |
0 |
32 |
| Montjoy |
1 |
10 |
12 |
2 |
0 |
25 |
| Orleans |
1 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
15 |
| Nym |
2 |
12 |
20 |
6 |
0 |
40 |
| Quickly |
0 |
12 |
15 |
7 |
1 |
35 |
| Ely |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Bardolph |
0 |
3 |
9 |
6 |
2 |
20 |
| Alice |
2 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
1 |
16 |
| Isabel |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| MacMorris |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Westmorland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Grandpre |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Bates |
4 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
12 |
| Fr. Ambassador |
0 |
3 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
14 |
| Cambridge |
0 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| French Soldier |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
| Scrope |
0 |
10 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
| Grey |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
| Jamy |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Bedford |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Bourbon |
0 |
7 |
16 |
6 |
0 |
29 |
| Britanny |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Rambures |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Salisbury |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
| Erpingham |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Fr. Messenger |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Governor |
0 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| Gloucester |
1 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
11 |
| Court |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Eng. Herald |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| York |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Warwick |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
| Beaumont |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Berri |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Clarence |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
| Second Fr. Amb. |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Gebon |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Lord |
0 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
Table C: Henry V Folio Witnessed Lines in Various
Correlation Categories
|
FX (F Only) |
FA (All) |
FM (Most) |
FS (Some) |
FP (Paraphrase) |
F Total |
| All characters |
1593 |
560 |
693 |
380 |
27 |
3253 |
| Henry |
266 |
155 |
185 |
101 |
7 |
714 |
| Fluellen |
99 |
111 |
104 |
45 |
1 |
360 |
| Canterbury |
58 |
48 |
61 |
16 |
3 |
186 |
| Chorus |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Pistol |
63 |
58 |
85 |
46 |
7 |
259 |
| Constable |
193 |
60 |
59 |
25 |
2 |
339 |
| Exeter |
463 |
252 |
311 |
124 |
8 |
1158 |
| Dauphin |
160 |
49 |
45 |
27 |
2 |
283 |
| Charles |
185 |
50 |
49 |
31 |
2 |
317 |
| Williams |
79 |
30 |
59 |
56 |
4 |
228 |
| Boy |
40 |
20 |
31 |
26 |
2 |
119 |
| Burgundy |
83 |
7 |
17 |
14 |
2 |
123 |
| Gower |
139 |
111 |
177 |
92 |
4 |
523 |
| Katherine |
100 |
13 |
26 |
36 |
2 |
177 |
| Montjoy |
14 |
45 |
39 |
14 |
0 |
112 |
| Orleans |
141 |
17 |
33 |
9 |
0 |
200 |
| Nym |
35 |
31 |
51 |
34 |
3 |
154 |
| Quickly |
20 |
21 |
31 |
11 |
3 |
86 |
| Ely |
145 |
98 |
106 |
23 |
3 |
375 |
| Bardolph |
36 |
38 |
67 |
26 |
3 |
170 |
| Alice |
147 |
7 |
17 |
18 |
2 |
191 |
| Isabel |
124 |
7 |
17 |
18 |
1 |
167 |
| MacMorris |
45 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
45 |
| Westmorland |
177 |
200 |
197 |
52 |
3 |
629 |
| Grandpre |
7 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
| Bates |
54 |
4 |
21 |
35 |
5 |
119 |
| Fr. Ambassador |
0 |
21 |
22 |
6 |
0 |
49 |
| Cambridge |
55 |
48 |
45 |
7 |
0 |
155 |
| French Soldier |
22 |
25 |
25 |
11 |
1 |
84 |
| Scrope |
63 |
44 |
42 |
8 |
0 |
157 |
| Grey |
57 |
51 |
42 |
8 |
0 |
158 |
| Jamy |
53 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
53 |
| Bedford |
433 |
222 |
220 |
69 |
5 |
949 |
| Bourbon |
41 |
20 |
44 |
39 |
2 |
146 |
| Britanny |
100 |
45 |
40 |
24 |
2 |
211 |
| Rambures |
167 |
26 |
37 |
10 |
0 |
240 |
| Salisbury |
18 |
30 |
22 |
5 |
0 |
75 |
| Erpingham |
58 |
42 |
40 |
18 |
0 |
158 |
| Fr. Messenger |
79 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
83 |
| Governor |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
| Gloucester |
435 |
253 |
309 |
130 |
9 |
1136 |
| Court |
64 |
5 |
22 |
38 |
5 |
134 |
| Eng. Nerald |
30 |
35 |
36 |
23 |
0 |
124 |
| York |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
| Warwick |
274 |
153 |
214 |
97 |
7 |
745 |
| Beaumont |
66 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
68 |
| Berri |
62 |
41 |
31 |
17 |
1 |
152 |
| Clarence |
309 |
183 |
222 |
96 |
9 |
819 |
| Second Fr. Amb. |
0 |
25 |
29 |
9 |
3 |
66 |
| Gebon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Lord |
373 |
147 |
182 |
92 |
6 |
800 |
Table D: Henry V Quarto Witnessed Lines in
Various
Correlation Categories
|
QX (Q Only) |
QA (All) |
QM (Most) |
QS (Some) |
QP (Paraphrase) |
Q Total |
| All characters |
55 |
624 |
735 |
183 |
32 |
1629 |
| Henry |
22 |
178 |
190 |
40 |
8 |
438 |
| Fluellen |
2 |
119 |
114 |
14 |
1 |
250 |
| Canterbury |
0 |
46 |
63 |
6 |
2 |
117 |
| Chorus |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Pistol |
5 |
60 |
91 |
29 |
8 |
193 |
| Constable |
2 |
59 |
56 |
16 |
4 |
137 |
| Exeter |
19 |
265 |
326 |
47 |
8 |
665 |
| Dauphin |
1 |
39 |
40 |
7 |
4 |
91 |
| Charles |
6 |
56 |
54 |
14 |
1 |
131 |
| Williams |
6 |
34 |
81 |
16 |
5 |
142 |
| Boy |
0 |
24 |
33 |
14 |
3 |
74 |
| Burgundy |
9 |
12 |
15 |
8 |
2 |
46 |
| Gower |
7 |
124 |
185 |
40 |
5 |
361 |
| Katherine |
15 |
30 |
59 |
32 |
5 |
141 |
| Montjoy |
0 |
48 |
36 |
5 |
0 |
89 |
| Orleans |
3 |
68 |
61 |
20 |
3 |
155 |
| Nym |
0 |
41 |
50 |
17 |
3 |
111 |
| Quickly |
0 |
21 |
35 |
5 |
2 |
63 |
| Ely |
0 |
100 |
111 |
9 |
2 |
222 |
| Bardolph |
2 |
50 |
61 |
17 |
1 |
131 |
| Alice |
18 |
31 |
57 |
28 |
4 |
138 |
| Isabel |
10 |
12 |
16 |
10 |
2 |
50 |
| MacMorris |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Westmorland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Grandpre |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Bates |
3 |
12 |
28 |
13 |
5 |
61 |
| Fr. Ambassador |
0 |
18 |
24 |
3 |
0 |
45 |
| Cambridge |
0 |
50 |
43 |
2 |
0 |
95 |
| French Soldier |
2 |
26 |
25 |
6 |
0 |
59 |
| Scrope |
0 |
46 |
41 |
2 |
0 |
89 |
| Grey |
0 |
55 |
41 |
1 |
0 |
97 |
| Jamy |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Bedford |
0 |
13 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
| Bourbon |
4 |
58 |
53 |
14 |
4 |
133 |
| Britanny |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Rambures |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Salisbury |
3 |
45 |
42 |
6 |
0 |
96 |
| Erpingham |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Fr. Messenger |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| Governor |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Gloucester |
21 |
205 |
200 |
35 |
6 |
467 |
| Court |
7 |
12 |
33 |
15 |
5 |
72 |
| Eng. Herald |
1 |
15 |
24 |
5 |
0 |
45 |
| York |
4 |
44 |
42 |
7 |
0 |
97 |
| Warwick |
16 |
106 |
156 |
32 |
6 |
316 |
| Beaumont |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Berri |
1 |
43 |
34 |
9 |
3 |
90 |
| Clarence |
20 |
271 |
317 |
45 |
9 |
662 |
| Second Fr. Amb. |
0 |
21 |
32 |
4 |
2 |
59 |
| Gebon |
3 |
29 |
31 |
15 |
0 |
78 |
| Lord |
16 |
195 |
219 |
36 |
8 |
474 |
