Abstract

Over the last few years, increasing scholarly attention has been devoted to how digital editions are reconceptualising the textual transmission and editorial mediation of Shakespeare and early modern drama. Yet, many questions are still open to debate. In particular, doubts have arisen concerning the benefits and possible drawbacks of affording access to the multiple surviving versions of the playwright’s texts cross-referenced to complex editorial apparatuses in interactive environments. Against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving scene, this essay addresses the potentialities, challenges and possible future directions of Shakespeare digital editing, comparing print-based and digital-based reading practices, with a view to investigating the still partly unexplored hermeneutic implications for the reader. Focusing on Hamlet as a case in point, and examining a selection of Web-based resources that interestingly imitate, absorb and inventively ‘remediate’ page-based conventions of text representation, light is shed on how the shift from print to the digital medium affects our understanding of and possibilities of engaging with Shakespeare’s textual heritage.