Scholarly Editing

Please contact me if you wish to read any of my work directly. Presented by invitation at the English and Theatre Studies seminar at the University of Melbourne, September 18, 2019.

Early in his essay “De l’Expérience”, Michel de Montaigne asks, wryly, “when is it agreed between us that ‘this book has enough, and there is nothing more to say about it’?” (1067). His comment emerges from his discussion of editing and glossing legal texts – he was a lawyer by training – but his words can be rather tellingly applied to scholarly editing practices, including those surrounding Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This paper discusses the relationship between editorial work in Shakespeare studies, the Hamlet texts, and Montaigne’s editorial philosophy. It does so in light of a broader claim about Shakespeare’s language, which is that Hamlet is not written in English. Instead, Shakespeare uses a language that can be more helpfully called French English. Mediating this project through questions of language and translation allows for connections between Montaigne and Shakespeare to be made as alternative forms of translation, rather than being mediated by the widely read English translation by John Florio in 1603.

Both Hamlet and Les Essais, whether edited, glossed, or simply replicated, are neither singular nor intact. Montaigne’s explanations of editing and indeed of ending can be found in different forms within each and across all of the Hamlet texts. In this way, Shakespeare’s play texts are an essay constantly in the process of being (re-)written.

Few things make you feel as if you're holding history in your hands more than a fine map or print. As recent and forthcoming examples sold at auction attest, this particular area of collectibles brings collectors' key responsibility to the fore: to preserve pieces of man's history. For that reason, it is imperative that you take good care of your maps and manuscripts. Steps for Manuscript Maps Preservation • Handle them carefully. A lack of care when handling old manuscripts is the most prevalent cause of their damage, often resulting in wear and tears, worn-out images, creases and stains. • Don't handle the paper with unwashed hands. Oils and salts in your perspiration may damage the paper and leave difficult stains. • Always handle your rare maps a manuscript with two (clean) hands and never handle them by the edges, particularly if tears are already evident. • Prepare a clean viewing surface on which to enjoy your collection, with no liquids, foods, ink pens or other messy objects nearby. • Avoid any use of paper clips, staples post-it notes or other potentially damaging stationery items. • Don't store your collection in a space where there are extreme changes in temperature or humidity. Each of these can have a detrimental effect on the paper. Ideally, your storage space

Writing an outline for a research paper can seem like a time consuming task, and you may not understand the value of it if you have never written one before. Outlines can help you structure your research and your final paper in much more efficient ways, though, so it is a good idea that you learn how to write one. Here are a few things to keep in mind when doing so. Part 1. Outline Type and Structure • Choose between a topic outline and sentence outline. With a topic outline, the headings and subpoints are all given in single words or short phrases. With a sentence outline, all of the headings and subpoints are provided in complete sentences. • Most outlines use an alpha-numerical structure. This structure uses a series of letters and numbers to identify and arrange section levels 1) The first level is represented by Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, etc.), 2) The second level is represented by capital letters (A, B, C, D, etc.), 3) The third level is represented by numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), and the fourth level is represented by lowercase letters (a, b, c, d, etc.). • Note capitalization issues. In sentence outlines, headings and subpoints are almost always written with correct sentence capitalization rules. This is not always the case with topic outlines.

A strong thesis statement is the foundation of an interesting, well-researched paper. A paper without a central claim to control the content and direction will leave the reader (and your teacher!) confused and unconvinced. Your thesis statement functions to capture the attention of the reader provide information about the purpose and content of the paper, and to establish your stance on the subject as the author.