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This thesis draws the line of a rise and a fall, an ironic pattern whereby the English stage of the long eighteenth century, in its relation to Shakespeare in particular, first acquired powerful influence, and then, through the very effects of that power, lost it. It also shows what contemporary literary criticism might learn from the activities that constitute this arc of evolution. My first chapter interrogates the relationship between text and performance in vernacular writings about acting and editing from the death of Betterton in 1710 to the rise of Garrick in the middle decades of the century. From the status of a distinct tradition, performance comes to rely on text as a basis for the intimate, personal engagement with Shakespeare believed necessary to the work of the sentimental actor. Such a reliance grants the performer new potential as a literary critic, but also prepares a fall. The performer becomes another kind of reader, and so is open to accusations of reading badly. My second chapter analyses the evolving definition of Shakespeare as a dramatic author from Samuel Johnson onwards. An untheatrical definition of the dramatic (Johnson's) is answered by one which recognises the power and vitality of the stage, especially in its representation of sympathetic character (Montagu and Kenrick). Yet that very recognition leads to a set of altered critical priorities in which the theatre is, once more, relegated (Morgann and Richardson). My third and fourth chapters consider the practices and critical implications of theatrical performance of Shakespeare during Garrick's career. I focus on the acting of emotion, the portrayal of what Aaron Hill called 'the very Instant of the changing Passion', and show that performance of this time, attentive to the striking moment and the transitions that power it, required from the actor both attention to the text and preternatural control over his own emotions. In return, it allowed Garrick and others to claim a special affinity with Shakespeare and to capture the public's attention, both in the theatre and outside it. Yet this situation, that of 'twin stars', does not last. French and German responses to English acting, the concern of my last chapter, show its decline particularly well. They also, however, show the power that existed in such a union between page and stage, and equal weight is given in both my third and my fourth chapter to how the theatrical-literary insights of eighteenth-century critical culture might also illuminate modern approaches.

This thesis aims to understand transcription as a critical transmission practice in the digital medium in order to add to the research surrounding digital library initiatives that make these research materials available and accessible. The project to transcribe the records of Lapland priest J. A. Nensén at Umeå University aims to publish the transcriptions in the cultural heritage database Alvin by Uppsala University Library. Looking at these two Swedish projects can better illustrate the issues surrounding digital tool application and integration. This thesis first explores the transcription practices of a group of scholars transcribing J. A. Nensén’s records. By understanding their model, a better picture of transcription as a scholarly practice can be achieved that can be useful when selecting a digital transcription tool. The study then identified appropriate transcription tools and reviewed the ones most applicable for the project based on the group’s paradigm. It was discovered that the main disparity in transcription practice is the balance between producing a diplomatic transcription and one that is readable. The primary consideration in transcription tool selection was found to be the goals of the project; in this case, those of the transcribers. This determined the tools to be reviewed. These were: FromThePage, Scripto, T-Pen, and Wikisource. All the tools are suitable to the editors, but they still present some obstacles in regards to diplomatic transcription.

Am Beispiel der altgermanistischen Edition wird dargelegt, dass das Buch als Publikationsort herausgefordert ist: Einerseits haben die Diskussionen zur ''New Philology'' gezeigt, dass die Möglichkeiten des Printmediums erschöpft sind. Andererseits hat sich durch die ''Neuen Medien'' der Erwartungshorizont der Leser-Benutzer gravierend verschoben. Obwohl die elektronische Datenverarbeitung im Editionsprozess seit Beginn des digitalen Zeitalters eine bedeutende Rolle spielt, fällt es dem Fach schwer, diesem Horizont und den daraus resultierenden Ansprüchen gerecht zu werden. Das liegt daran, dass – der Theorie nach – bei Medienumbrüchen das alte Medium dem neuen den Aktionsradius vorgibt, sodass Bremseffekte stets die Entwicklung beeinflussen. In der Praxis bedeutet dies, dass die digitalen Medien nur als Präsentationsvehikel ausgebeutet werden. Zwar werden Handschriften, Buchbestände und Texte erschlossen und im Internet zugänglich gemacht, sodass klassische Editionen (Faksimile, diplomatischer Abdruck, Fassungsedition oder historisch-kritische Ausgabe) nicht mehr nur im gedruckten Buch abgebildet werden. Jedoch macht schon die Rezeption an unterschiedlichen Endgeräten (E-Book-Reader, PC-Bildschirmen, Smartphones, Braille Displays etc.) Grenzen sichtbar. Noch deutlicher wird dies unterhalb der sich wechselseitig treibenden Wirkkräfte Standardisierung, Interoperabilität, Ausdifferenzierung, Kollaboration, Webapplikationen, Semantik, Zugänglichkeit, Barrierefreiheit und Legalität. Sie stellen für die komplexe Textedition einen völlig neuen Anforderungskatalog dar, der die statische Präsentation der Ergebnisse hinter sich lässt. Dieses traditionelle Ziel allen Edierens rückt gegenüber dem Editionsprozess und dem genuinen Potential der digitalen Medien, der Trennung der Präsentation vom Speicher, in den Hintergrund. Entscheidend wird sein, dass Editionsdaten für das fortgesetzte Bearbeiten offen und dabei auf verschiedensten Endgeräten flexibel präsentierbar bleiben. / Looking at recent publications of medieval German texts reveals two challenges to the dominance of the printed book as the principal place for publishing: On the one hand, the ''New Philology'' has shown that the possibilities of print are exhausted. On the other hand, the expectations of the 21st century reader/user have radically changed. Despite the fact that from the beginning, digital data processing has played a major role in the editing process, it is very hard to live up to these expectations. This is because - in theory - the old medium dictates limitations to the new one, slowing down the process of expansion and change. In practice this means that so far digital media have been used only as a vehicle for presentation. With manuscripts, book collections and texts being extensively captured and made available on the Internet, classical editions (facsimiles, diplomatic editions, edited versions and historical-critical editions) are increasingly being published outside the printed book. Nevertheless, the reception of this digital content on different devices (e-book readers, computer screens, smartphones, braille displays etc.) has its limitations. This becomes even more obvious when one considers the mutually active forces of standardization, interoperability, differentiation, collaboration, web applications, semantics, availability, accessibility and legality. These establish a whole new list of requirements that goes beyond the static presentation of the results of the editing process. While the traditional goal of all editing processes is losing its importance, it nevertheless opens up the genuine potential of digital media: the separation of presentation from memory. In the future, publishing data could be kept open for further processing and would remain flexible for presentation on all kinds of devices.