Blackwell Reference Online

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Finally, it should be clear that it is not up to us to provide reality.Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern ExplainedIf we accept the usual definitions of postmodernism, which, following Lyotard, associate it with pluralism, relativism, and recognition of incommensurable differences, with a rejection of grand narratives and totalizations of all kinds, then the title of this chapter presents an impossibility. Editing is by its nature a choosing among available alternatives, a setting of limits upon a range of possible forms and meanings. If by editing Shakespeare we mean the construction of a text that claims to offer readers an authoritative, reliable version of a Shakespearean play or poem – to provide readers with a “reality” of that Shakespearean text – then that construction will not be postmodern because it will have settled into a stability that is inimical to the restless kineticism we tend to associate with postmodernism. And yet, even in a “postmodern age,” if Shakespeare is to continue to be read and performed, someone must provide readers, students, and actors with versions of the text that they can use productively and collectively. A digital edition that allows readers to play with a wide array of possible words, actions, and stage directions and construct their own, say, Hamlet can come fairly close to being a creditable postmodern edition, but it will perforce settle ... log in or subscribe to read full text