Academic Edition

Students will complete an academic edition of one Middle English play of their choice. This assignment will be completed in installments in order to develop specific critical skills within medieval studies. Installment 1 will be a linguistic analysis of key words that require glossing; installment 2 will be a comparative analysis of the play based on available manuscripts; installment 3 will be a survey of the literature; and installment 4 will situate the edition within the critical conversation of previous editions, as well as finalize revisions and formatting.

Installment 1: Linguistic Analysis

1. Choose your play. I suggest reviewing a few options and consider length, amount of scholarly attention, as well as complexity of textual history to gauge your workload.
2. Closely read the passage and identify key words and phrases that develop a theme or contribute to the overall play. Be on the lookout for words that are repeated or puns.
3. Closely read the passage again and identify words that a modern audience (such as yourselves!) might not know. 
4. Using the library databases, access the Oxford English Dictionary and search for each of these words. The OED provides the earliest usage of every word in the English language, so look over the entries for your words very carefully (often a single word will have multiple meanings and you want to take all of its possible meanings into account) and only use definitions whose first usage is prior to the estimated date of the play. Pay close attention if any of the words were recently coined or whose first usage occurs in the play. 
5. Cross check these same words on the Middle English Dictionary. Remember to search “headwords and forms” and significantly truncate words with *. Consult guides to Middle English for spelling conventions as well. The definitions in the MED can be more accurate for Middle English texts, so if there is discrepancy or variation between the OED and the MED, lean towards the MED.
6. Take all of this research and insert it into the play through glossing. That means providing all possible definitions from the OED and/or MED, for the key words and phrases related to theme, and a brief description of how these definitions develop a theme or contribute to the complexity of the text.

Installment 2: A Comparative Analysis and Primary Texts

1) Read the relevant Biblical material on your play using the Douay-Rheims version (drbo.org). Note that some subjects, like some of Jesus’ miracles, will occur in multiple Gospels, so be sure to consult all available versions. Note any differences, discrepancies, and gaps in and between the narratives.
2) Research the textual history of your play and write a footnote detailing the number of manuscripts extant, the approximate dates, and all relevant material to the variants. Note that medieval textual histories can be particularly complex and contentious, so be sure to consult both seminal editions as well as the latest scholarship.
3) Compare the received text of the play with the extant manuscript(s), either through digitized resources or a facsimile edition. Note any places where variants occur and either include variations in a footnote or, in compelling cases, edit the received text. (Spelling may remain modernized). In cases where manuscripts possibly suggest change over time, chose a framework for your editorial choices (such as earliest, latest, or “best” witness) and then note variants with explanation. 
4) Consult the REED volume (http://reed.utoronto.ca/) appropriate for the play’s region and search for relevant entries to your text using the various filters. Include any discoveries in notes. 

Installment 3: Review of the Literature

1) Access the standard databases of the field (MLA, JSTOR, Project Muse, etc.) and locate sources on or relevant to your text.
2) Cross-check your hits in the databases with WorldCat to locate seminal books and volumes in the field. ILL any that are not available in the library.
3) Compile these resources into a bibliography. There is no minimum or maximum number of sources because this varies widely with each text; but exercise good judgment to do a thorough but reasonable job at reviewing the literature. 
4) Incorporate the material from the bibliography into footnotes for the appropriate lines. This process might entail explaining an allusion or metaphor, summarizing one or more scholars’ takes on a particular theme or passage, providing historical context on a line or reference, or suggesting possible interpretations of a textual crux.
5) Review your passage once more to be sure that all material that might need further explanations has them provided. If any gaps remain, perform outside research to fill them.

Installment 4: Final Project

1) Collate all of your previous work into a single document with a single set of footnotes and one cumulative works cited page.
2) Review the EETS and TEAMS editions of your play as well as 1-2 other editions in anthologies to explore glosses and notes you might have missed. If your own material disagrees with those editions, note so rather than changing your work to fit the other editions. It is the function of new editions to both build on but also challenge previous ones.
3) Consider material we’ve covered in class so far, particularly regarding original practices, performance, and conventions of the period.
4) Review formatting choices for clarity and consistency.

*Installments 1-3 will be given feedback. Installment 4 will be graded out of 100 points. 

Assessment Rubric

Linguistic Analysis (30 points)

Comparative Analysis (30 points)

Review of the Literature (30 points)

Formatting, Grammar, Style, etc. (10 points)