Shakespeare’s Footprint

The theme of this fall’s GEMCS conference, “Tracing Footprints,” has got me thinking about Shakespeare’s footprint on our shelves and in our classrooms, and to what degree the Shakespeare industry is committed to the economics and perceived authority of print. In terms of sheer shelf space, Shakespeare is the SUV of early modern authors (in my office at least), taking up over four feet of shelving in assorted editions alone. The market for Shakespeare editions appears robust and stable, and the offerings in early modern drama are improving, yet if the energy being put into the Internet Shakespeare Editions is any indication, the greening of Shakespeare might be slowly underway.

Despite today’s announcement by Amazon of a textbook-format Kindle, I doubt scholarly texts of Shakespeare will be available any time soon from the Kindle Store; it has too many limitations. Right now the pickings are slim, and most of my students would prefer to read a text (or surf in class) on their laptop anyway. One student, perhaps to prove me wrong, got rather skilled at navigating through an online, unlineated text on his iPhone. Yet every time I survey students on what navigational aids they prefer, where they like their notes, and how they use a text, print remains their top choice, even when told their teacher is preparing an online edition.

Letting go of the book might be tough.