Shakespeare's plays enjoyed an immense popularity on the Restoration stage, and the large number of theatre patrons combined with the increase in the reading public to create a strong demand for the plays in print. Throughout the Restoration period, however, those interested in reading Shakespeare's dramatic works could choose only from a few plays printed in quarto and from "complete works" in bulky and expensive single-volume folios. Recognizing that potential Shakespeare readers were not likely to be satisfied by existing copies, the publisher and entrepreneur Jacob Tonson undertook to publish Shakespeare's plays in a smaller, more affordable edition. / To edit the plays, Tonson selected Nicholas Rowe, the chief tragedian of the day. Rowe's six-volume edition of Shakespeare's plays was first published in 1709, and proved so successful that a second edition appeared in the same year, and a third in 1714. Among the edition's innovations are its octavo size, illustrations, lists of dramatis personae, settings, scene locations, and act and scene divisions. Its chief feature, however, is its extensive biography of Shakespeare, which was not only the first to be published but remained the standard until 1821. / Despite its important place in Shakespearean scholarship, Rowe's edition has not undergone a single, exhaustive study. The purpose of this study is to secure for Rowe's edition the status it well deserves. To that end, I have consulted existing studies, combining their findings with those of my own. Chapter One discusses Shakespeare's progress during the seventeenth century and the circumstances which prompted Tonson to commission Rowe's work. Chapter Two focuses on the technical points of Rowe's three editions of Shakespear--the dates of publication, the costs of sets, the formats, the types of paper and binding, and the illustrations. Chapter Three is concerned with Rowe's biography of Shakespeare. Its information has been evaluated with the assistance of Professor Shoenbaum's invaluable Shakespeare's Lives. Chapter Four examines Rowe's text of the plays, providing a detailed analysis of his lists of dramatis personae, his settings, scene locations, act and scene divisions, and emendations. And Chapter Five evaluates Rowe's place among Shakespeare editors. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-12, Section: A, page: 3918. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74976 |
| Contributors | DOUGLASS, TERRY SCOTT., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 181 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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