The Arden _Hamlet_

Because I am an early modernist, it seems that my edition is obvious, but I chose the Arden edition of Hamlet edited by Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor. This edition weighs in at just over 600 pages and fulfills most of the MLA guidelines. 137 pages of material precede the play's text, which itself contains lengthy footnotes of explanatory content as well as "notes documenting alterations and variant readings" on each page. The text of the play itself is followed by 134 pages of appendices that comment on textual variations among versions of the play and this editions editorial principles as well as discussing the early modern production practices surrounding this play. The construction of this edition seems very thorough, but it is very clearly an edition put together with the scholar in mind. I compared it to the Folger Shakespeare Library's edition of Hamlet edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. The Folger edition contains an editor's preface that serves to guide you through the features of the edition; general information about Shakespeare's life, works, and theatre; and an introduction to this particular text. The text of the play itself contains glosses on each facing page and is followed by textual notes, a "modern perspective essay, and some recommendations for further reading. The Folger has far less complexity is than the Arden, and while both editions take pains to explain editorial decisions, the Arden seems to come with an assumption that the reader will have the tools or ability to use the complex textual elements included in the edition. The Arden seems more complete, but this completeness almost causes obfuscation or at the least serves as a form of gate-keeping whereas the Folger seems to be striving to bring a critically rendered edition of the text to a more general audience.