3 - Textual Studies

Summary

This year has been marked by the publication of two of the major comedies in the New Arden Shakespeare, As You Like It edited by Agnes Latham and Twelfth Night completed by T. W. Craik on the basis of work nearly finished by J. M. Lothian at the time of his death in 1970. The circumstances of their completion may be reflected in the different characters of these two excellent editions. As You Like It is flavoured throughout by its editor’s dry wit and pondered wisdom, reflected in an economy of statement which is more often informed with ironic implication than a casual reading may reveal: the edition is clearly the product of a long and deep affection for the play. It is perhaps in part the accident of juxtaposition which gives Twelfth Night the air of a less fully integrated piece of work, but for all its solid virtues, its style lacks the poise and pointedness of As You Like It and its different sections give less sense of being pervaded by a clear and subtle awareness of the play’s integrity and individuality.