ABSTRACT

The genius of Shakespeare is not always accessible or easily understandable to readers and audiences. Leon Kellner points out that sometimes Shakespeare’s languages does not make sense at all but this is not necessarily because his metaphors are too complex. Rather, the printing of his works is often filled with errors. Originally published in 1925, Kellner’s work explores the reasons and potential mistakes which may account for the unintelligible passages in Shakespeare such as handwriting, abbreviations, and the confusing of pronouns. This title will be of interest to students of English Literature and Linguistics.

chapter 1|17 pages

Introductory

chapter 2|13 pages

The Elizabethan Handwriting1)

chapter 3|91 pages

Individual Letters Misread

chapter 4|12 pages

Abbreviation as a Source of Mistakes

chapter 5|4 pages

Wrong Division

chapter 6|3 pages

Endings Confused

chapter 7|7 pages

Pronouns Confused

chapter 8|2 pages

Prefixes Confused

chapter 9|4 pages

Transposition

chapter 10|5 pages

Substitution

chapter 11|2 pages

Double Writing (Dittography)

chapter 12|3 pages

Single Writing (Haplography)

chapter 13|3 pages

Contrasting Words Substituted

chapter 14|2 pages

Deliberate Alterations

chapter 16|2 pages

Intrusions into the Text