Innovationen und Reproduktionen in Kulturen und Gesellschaften (IRICS) Wien, 9. bis 11. Dezember 2005

<< Spreading the Word: Texts and the Text

'Not for the profoundly learned': John Bell's 'Acting' edition of Shakespeare

Stuart Sillars (University of Bergen)

ABSTRACT:

Bell's Shakespeare is rarely considered by Shakespeare scholars, yet its three editions in 1774-5 sold in far larger numbers than the scrupulously annotated texts of Johnson and Malone. This paper will explore the reasons for its popularity, arguing that rather than recording one specific production it gave control over the construction of the action to the reader, within a reading experience in many ways similar to that of the novel, already the major popular literary form.