APPENDIX C
The Text of the Present Edition
The text of the present volume is based, by permission of the Oxford University Press, upon that of the Oxford Shakespeare, edited by the late W. J. Craig. Craig's text has been carefully collated with the Shakespeare Folio of 1623, and the following deviations have been introduced:
1. The stage directions of the Folio have been restored. Necessary words and directions, omitted by the Folio, are added within square brackets.
2. Punctuation and spelling have been normalized to accord with modern English practice; e.g., anything, everything, warlike, priestlike, hostler, carcasses, scandal'd (instead of any thing, every thing, war-like, priest-like, ostler, carcases, scandall'd). Generally the changes introduced, both in punctuation and in spelling, effect a closer approximation to the Folio form. The form Martius, invariable in the Folio and in North, is restored passim in place of Marcius. The Folio abbreviation 'Y' are' is likewise replaced instead of the varying 'you 're,' 'ye 're,' or 'you are' of modern editions.
3. The frequent elisions, characteristic of the Folio text and often necessary for scansion of the lines, have generally been retained; e.g., th' expulsion, th' accusation, is 't, we'll, o' (for of or on), 's (for is, his, or us), etc.
4. The following changes of text have been introduced, nearly always in accordance with Folio authority. The readings of the present edition precede the colon, while Craig's readings follow it:
