Abstract
W. W. Greg has often been seen as a chief upholder of the dated orthodoxy of the "New Bibliography". I suggest in this paper that under a formal adherence to its idiom, Greg was actually questioning and even subverting that orthodoxy, especially in his denial, in "The Rationale of Copy-Text", that any single version can provide uniform authority for substantive readings. He explicitly questions the possibility of a single definitive text, and anticipates the postmodern concept of the text as process. He therefore admits a measure of subjectivity not only in editorial practice but also in editorial principle, advancing beyond the "critical" to a "metacritical" plane of the "imaginative, intuitional, and creative". Authenticating new editorial practices like the validation of parallel or alternative texts of the same work, Greg contributions to editorial theory anticipate many premises of contemporary postmodern thought.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.