If you think the Shakespeare book you are holding gives you direct access to what Shakespeare actually wrote, think again. You’re holding an edition of the play which has been mediated by a scholarly mind and process.
To create a Shakespeare edition is a labour of love, but it’s a labour which is never lost, and one which testifies to a long-established and on-going scholarly tradition. Every generation produces for itself the edition of Shakespeare it needs.
On Shakespeare’s Birthday it was my pleasure to host a webinar with Professor Reg Foakes (formerly of U.C.L.A.) and Professor David Lindley (formerly of the University of Leeds). The occasion marked the completion of the Cambridge University Press edition of Shakespeare to which both of them had contributed. We chatted about a little bit about the history of this prestigious series and what it means to ‘make’ a Shakespeare text in this way.
It was a fascinating discussion and a salutary reminder to think and think again about what it means to ‘make’ Shakespeare.
Thanks to Cambridge University Press or making this webinar freely available to the public.
