Revision and Collaboration in the Henry VI Plays

• Other Authors: Kim, Heejin (author)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: British literature; Irish literature; English literature
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/2018_Su_Kim_fsu_0071E_14703

Since 1928 The First Part of the Contention and Richard Duke of York (texts printed separately in the 1590s) have been regarded as memorial reconstructions of two texts printed in 1623 in the folio edition of Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, where they are instead identified as Henry the Sixth, Part Two and Henry the Sixth, Part Three. Although recent scholarship has called into question the validity of the memorial reconstruction hypothesis in general and has demonstrated aesthetic differences between the “bad quartos” and the 1623 Folio as a sign of distinctive authorial engagements, most reference works and critical editions of the Henry VI plays maintain the 1928 view. This dissertation challenges the validity of textual evidence presented in support of the memorial reconstruction hypothesis and argues that Contention and Duke of York are based on authentic manuscripts and Folio Henry VI plays are based on revised, collaborative texts. The alleged signs of memorial corruption are also found in contemporary authorial manuscripts of other plays, and an examination of textual disruptions in the Henry VI texts shows signs of authorial engagements. A number of passages unique to the earlier printings contain independent references to chronicle sources, which disputes the memorial reconstruction hypothesis that piratical actors improvised the passages that are absent in the Folio when their memory failed. Because the memorial reconstruction hypothesis was, from its origins, committed to the idea that Shakespeare was the sole author of all the Henry VI plays, the dissertation also critically reviews external and internal evidence in regard to the authorship and date of the Henry VI plays, ranging from contemporary documentary evidence to most recent computational analyses. It also examines the implication of collaborative intersection between Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare in the plays written before the 1594 formation of the Chamberlain’s Men texts; in particular, it compares the two texts printed in the 1590s with the 1623 Folio texts by showing that Queen Margret in the Folio is a Shakespearean adaptation of an earlier Marlovian portrayal. === A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Summer Semester 2018. === June 18, 2018. === Authorship, Christopher Marlowe, Collaboration, Henry VI, Revision, William Shakespeare === Includes bibliographical references. === Gary Taylor, Professor Directing Dissertation; Theresa Mategrano, University Representative; Bruce Boehrer, Committee Member; Barry Faulk, Committee Member.