Posted: 24 October 2016 at 7:40am | IP Logged | 5
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One of the things that confuses many people when they hear there is any sort of debate over who wrote the works of Shakespeare is that they tend to image manuscripts in the form we know them today -- pages pf script, with a title page and the author's name attached.Through much of theatrical history, this was not the case. Actors, for instance, were not given the whole play to read, but only their own line (sides). Much of what has come down to us was transcribed from performances (the Elizabethan equivalent of sneaking a video camera into a movie screening). Different actors ad libbed different readings. Back and forths with the audience were common. Printers commonly rewrote the works to fit onto specific line spaces. In other words, expect to be frustrated if seeking an "original manuscript".
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