Study of the theories and methods informing editions of Milton and Shakespeare in the eighteenth century.

Among the earliest editors of Shakespeare were several of the eighteenth century's most powerful writers. Scholars and Gentlemen demonstrates how much was at stake for these writers in the editing of English texts. Jarvis examines not only eighteenth-century texts of Shakespeare, but also sources as disparate as Pope's Dunciad, eighteenth-century classical and scriptural editing, and Johnson's Dictionary to show the importance of politically contested representations of scholars and scholarship for the formation of British public literary culture. Offering an unprecedentedly detailed account of both editorial theory and philological practice during the period, the book throws new light on a wide variety of issues, from the debates over the possibility of a polite and settled national language to the epistemological and cultural presuppositions of editorial method.

The Arden Research Handbook of Shakespeare and Textual Studies is a wide-ranging, authoritative guide to research on Shakespeare and textual studies by an international team of leading scholars. It contains chapters on all the major areas of current research, notably the Shakespeare manuscripts; the printed text and paratext in Shakespeare's early playbooks and poetry books; Shakespeare's place in the early modern book trade; Shakespeare's early readers, users, and collectors; the constitution and evolution of the Shakespeare canon from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century; Shakespeare's editors from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century; and the modern editorial reproduction of Shakespeare. The Handbook also devotes separate chapters to new directions and developments in research in the field, specifically in the areas of digital editing and of authorship attribution methodologies. In addition, the Companion contains various sections that provide non-specialists with practical help: an A-Z of key terms and concepts, a guide to research methods and problems, a chronology of major publications and events, an introduction to resources for study of the field, and a substantial annotated bibliography. The Arden Research Handbook of Shakespeare and Textual Studies is a reference work aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as scholars and libraries, a guide to beginning or developing research in the field, an essential companion for all those interested in Shakespeare and textual studies.

This book examines Shakespeare's influence and popularity in all aspects of eighteenth-century literature, culture and society.

Recovers eighteenth-century appreciation of transition as a critical tool for analysing the expression and reception of emotion in theatre.

This small but powerful book initiated a major shift in literary theory and method when it was first published in 1983. Starting from a critical inquiry into certain specialized issues in the practice of editing, McGann gradually unfolds an argument for a general revaluation of the grounds of literary study as a whole.