University of Virginia Library

Analysis by samples

Obviously, it is only possible to show as illustrations a few of the results obtained from the process of analysis. These are intended to show how the method works and to indicate the outcome of the tests. There may be some unease that what is being reported is based on samples of authors only. But

FIGURE 4. Shakespeare's dedications to Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece followed by the Elegye dedication.

FIGURE 5. Twenty-four sentences from Venus and Adonis followed by 20 sentences from the Elegye.

if these consistently give the same result, whether it be that the samples are indistinguishable or distinguishable, it is fair to ask how many samples would become "satisfactory" to the doubtful? Ten—twenty—fifty? There has to be a point at which the accumulated evidence becomes overwhelmingly persuasive. Readers disinclined to trust sampling should ask themselves whether

FIGURE 6. Fifteen sentences from the Elegye followed by 30 sentences from The Tempest.

it is mere chance or co-incidence that the two Dedications which were signed by William Shakespeare can instantly be shown to be consistent; and then, whether it is equally co-incidental that they should happen to be indistinguishable from samples from his first poem and last play but distinguishable from samples by other writers, like Christopher Marlowe and John Ford.

It would be disquieting, though, for literary scholarship if this investigation were to seem to set itself up in opposition to traditional methods. As Morton has written, "Cusum analysis is not some isolated touchstone of authenticity".[25] In fact, cusum analysis works best when able to support an attribution made by literary scholars, and this it has done many times. In addition to literary attributions already cited, Donald Foster's conclusion with regard to the authorship of "Twas the Night Before Christmas"[26] is entirely supported by my cusum investigation of that poem's authorship.

Naturally, most important for a positive attribution of the Funerall Elegye is the virtual consensus that it was John Ford who wrote the poem. This provided a new putative author to work on. Cusum analysis showed first that Ford's writing was consistent by the habit of using words of 2, 3 or 4 letters (qs234lw). Then, samples of Ford were shown to be consistent with samples of the Elegye (fig. 7). Four dedications by Ford can be also shown to be perfectly consistent with each other and with the poem (fig. 8). In both

FIGURE 7. Combined sample of 42 sentences from John Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore with 20 sentences from the Elegye inserted.

FIGURE 8. Twenty sentences from the Elegye followed by John Ford's dedications to The Lover's Melancholy, Perkin Warbeck, Love's Sacrifice, and The Lady's Trial.

these charts, there is a smooth tracking of the graph-lines and no separation: Ford's writing and that of the Elegye's author are indistinguishable.