"The very names of the Persons": Editing and the Invention of Dramatick Character

The editor's confidence that one could supply a whole corpus' worth of missing speech tags ( !) must reflect his conception of the distinct in-dividuality (hence the distinct unity) of each of this playwright's dramatic characters. He is onto something, of course, for lifelike char­ acterizations (in the major roles, if not in "every single character" ) is one of Shakspere's most conspicuous achievements.