Thus edition (August 2004) corrects a few errors in the convention for italic type. A few definitions appearing in the wrong place have also been fixed, as have anomalous top-bit set characters in the Hales Biography, which has been reformatted to make it easier to read.
The edition is best viewed with a monospaced font. Plain ASCII text is used throughout. Accented, etc., characters are indicated by symbols contained in curly brackets, e.g.:
{e/} = lower-case e + acute accent (pointing up to right) {e\} = lower-case e + grave accent (pointing up to left) {o^} = lower-case o + circumflex accent {o"} = lower-case o + diaeresis mark {e~} = lower-case e + tilde {ae} = lower-case ae diphthong {Ae} = ae diphthong with initial capital {AE} = fully capitalized ae diphthong etc.
In this way all the characters of the 1596 edition have been shown except the long "s", which has been throughout converted to its modern equivalent. In Roman type, the long "s" most closely resembles a lower-case "f" lacking part of the crossbar. It is used in the copy-text in nearly all places where this edition has an ordinary lower-case "s", except at the ends of words and when preceding the letter "k". Using the oblique character in place of the long "s", then, the first lines of the poem read:
Lo I the man, who/e Mu/e whilome did maske,
As time her taught in lowly Shepheards weeds,
Am now enfor/t a far vnfitter taske,
For trumpets /terne to chaunge mine Oaten reeds …
These rules are on occasion broken, apparently by mistake. The long "s" does nothing to aid comprehension, and indeed causes problems, noted in the Textual Appendix: e.g. confusion between "besit" and "befit".
Special characters contained in the list of printers' contractions are noted in the preamble to that list.
Regions of text printed, or intended to be shown, in italic type are defined by underscores, thus: the second word is in italics.
Spenser's original text of The Faerie Queene is here described as "Spenser's Text" and is in the public domain. The biography by John W. Hales has passed out of copyright and was published by Messrs Macmillan. Copyright in all other parts of this edition, including editorial treatment of Spenser's Text, is reserved. You may not sell the whole or any part of this edition in any form whatsoever, nor may you supply it as an inducement to any party to purchase any product. Except for private study, you may not alter the text in any way.