Construction of Shakespeare Authorship in the Eighteenth Century: An Example of Edmond Malone's Edition.

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In the history of the study of Shakespeare's texts the eighteenth century marked the emergence of editors, and in the history of Shakespearean editing Edmond Malone's emphasis on documentary evidence inaugurated a new stage. Malone's antiquarian scholarship sought to establish Shakespeare in the theatrical context of his age and a historically informed view of the physical circumstances under which he wrote his plays. Malone's editorial use of historical sources in terms of Shakespeare's past formulated a new mode of ascertaining his authorship: the construction of Shakespeare as a man of the theatre as well as of literature. Malone was the first scholar to recognize Shakespeare's merits as an actor, and to introduce the concept of the theatrical Shakespeare, which has become the scholarly norm since. In this respect this paper is designed to demonstrate that Malone's editorial principle and practice are characteristic of the identification of the factual documents of Shakespeare's biography, the authentication of his material to attain his true text, and the construction of his personal experiences through intensive readings of his plays. In conclusion, Malone's new criteria laid the foundation for the progress towards authorizing Shakespeare, thereby canonizing him as a figure of the theatrical and literary authority.