Index talk:The Tragedy of the Duchesse of Malfy (1623).pdf

Typography / spelling

Preserve the existing spelling except, where appropriate, substitute 'j' for 'i', 'v' for 'u', and 'w' for 'vv')

Do not duplicate the long 's'.

Page numbering

There are no page numbers in this work. The correct ordering of pages can be confirmed by checking the catchword at the end of each page

Header/Footer

Replicate text and italicisation.

Stage directions

There are few, if any, stage directions in this work.

Character names

For clarity, names are on a separate line and italicised per the text. They should be transcribed as-is, not expanded to the full character name.

General page formatting

The content of each page should be wrapped in <poem> </poem>. This (generally) makes it much easier to control line breaks - no need for hundreds of <br> or <br/>.

On pages where a transition from one act or scene to another occurs, the end of the act or scene must be followed by </poem> and the following one begun with <poem>, otherwise the act/scene won't format correctly when transcluded.

If a character's speech ends at the bottom of a page, insert <br> between it and </poem>, then start the next character's words immediately after <poem> on the next page. This will maintain correct spacing when the pages are transcluded.

Using {{center}}, {{right}}, etc. within <poem> </poem> generates additional blank lines so to make the layout look right sometimes requires a bit of adjustment. The following gives an example, the text width having been constrained to make the effect easier to see. Note the difference between:-

{{block left/s|width=350px}}
<poem>
With these mortals on the ground.
{{right|''Winde Hornes.''}}
{{center|''Enter Theseus, Egeus, Hippolita and all his traine.''}}
''Thes''.
Goe one of you, finde out the Forrester,
For now our obseruation is perform’d;
</poem>

and

<poem>
With these mortals on the ground.
{{right|''Winde Hornes.''}}{{center|''Enter Theseus, Egeus, Hippolita and all his traine.''}}''Thes''.
Goe one of you, finde out the Forrester,
For now our obseruation is perform’d;
</poem>
{{block left/e}}

Result

With these mortals on the ground.

Winde Hornes.

Enter Theseus, Egeus, Hippolita and all his traine.

Thes.
Goe one of you, finde out the Forrester,
For now our obseruation is perform’d;

and

With these mortals on the ground.

Winde Hornes.

Enter Theseus, Egeus, Hippolita and all his traine.

Thes.

Goe one of you, finde out the Forrester,
For now our obseruation is perform’d;

Verse and normal speech

Some speech is in verse, some is not.

Verse can be identified (generally) by the first word of each line beginning with a capital letter. In this case, the existing line breaks must be preserved, the only exception being if a line is so long that it extends to a second (usually identified by the second line being indented) then the break can be removed.

For normal speech, the line breaks should be removed to allow the text to wrap.

Poems and songs

Some plays feature songs. These should be centered and follow the formatting as required (italics, etc.). The easiest way to do this is to use {{center block/s}} and {{center block/e}}.

The text should be normal size, since these are not quotations (most books reproduce quoted poetry in a slightly smaller type size than the text around them).

Typical example

<poem>
{{center|''Enter Ariell with Musicke and Song. ''}}
'' Ariel. ''
My Master through his Art foresees the danger
That you (his friend) are in, and sends me forth
(For else his proiect dies) to keepe them liuing. {{float right|'' Sings in Gonzaloes care. ''}}
{{center block/s}}
''While you here do snoaring lie, ''
''Open-ey’d Conspiracie ''
''His time doth take: ''
{{center block/e}}
</poem>

---

Result:

---

Enter Ariell with Musicke and Song.

Ariel.
My Master through his Art foresees the danger
That you (his friend) are in, and sends me forth
(For else his proiect dies) to keepe them liuing. Sings in Gonzaloes care.

While you here do snoaring lie,
Open-ey’d Conspiracie
His time doth take: