Download or read book William Shakespeare written by Stanley Wells and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1997 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An indespensable companion to The Norton Shakespeare, Based on the Oxford Edition, this is the most comprehensive reference work on Shakespearean textual problems ever compiled in a single volume. William Shakespeare: A Textual Companion provides a wealth of information about the problems presented by texts and the processes by which editorial decisions are reached. The General Introduction discusses the critical and theoretical issues raised by different kinds of editions, the nature of early manuscripts, printed texts, and the evidence for the canon and chronology of Shakespeare's works. It also offers a concise history of the editing of Shakespeare and sets forth the editorial principles of the Oxford Edition. Included for each work, are an introduction, textual notes, press variants, discussions of emendations and problems of modernization, plausible alternative readings, and a letter-by-letter reprint of the stage directions in the control text, among other materials. --