The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 5 of 9]

by William Shakespeare

The third edition (Q₃) of The True Tragedy formed the second part of The Whole Contention described above. It has no separate title-page, but merely the heading:

The Second Part. | Containing the Tragedie of | Richard Duke of Yorke, and the | good King Henrie the | Sixt. |

We have reprinted the text of The First Part of the Contention and of The True Tragedy from the first edition of each, giving in notes at the foot of the page the various readings of the second and third editions. For this purpose we collated Mr Halliwell’s reprint for the Shakespeare Society with the originals in the Bodleian Library. The accuracy of Mr Halliwell’s work materially facilitated our labours, and we can only hope that the errors of our own reprint may be as few and as unimportant as those we have discovered in his. For the readings of the second Quartos of The First Part of the Contention and The True Tragedy we collated the copies in the Bodleian and the Duke of Devonshire’s Library, using also for the former the imperfect copy in the Capell collection. The readings of The Whole Contention (Q₃) have been given from Capell’s copy verified by reference to that in the Devonshire Library.

With regard to the authorship of The First Part of the Contention and The True Tragedy, while we cannot agree with Malone on the one hand that they contain nothing of Shakespeare’s, nor with Mr Knight on the other that they are entirely his work, there are so many internal proofs of his having had a considerable share in their composition, that, in accordance with our principle, we have reprinted them in a smaller type.

The first edition of KING RICHARD is a Quarto printed in 1597, with the following title-page:

The Tragedy of | King Richard the third. | Containing, | His treacherous Plots against his brother Clarence: | the pittiefull murther of his innocent nephewes: | his tyrannicall vsurpation: with the whole course | of his detested life, and most deserued death. | As it hath beene lately Acted by the | Right honourable the Lord Chamber-|laine his seruants. | AT LONDON | Printed by Valentine Sims, for Andrew Wise, | dwelling in Paules Church-yard, at the | Sign of the Angell. | 1597. |

This edition is referred to, in our notes, as Q₁.

We have collated a complete copy belonging to the Duke of Devonshire and also an imperfect copy formerly belonging to Malone and now in the Bodleian. Malone had supplied the missing leaves by the insertion of some from the second Quarto†. There is no copy in the Capell collection.

† He says in a MS. note: ‘This copy of the original edition of King Richard III. was imperfect, when I purchased it, wanting signat. C 1 and 2, D 4, L 4, and M 1, 2, and 3. These seven leaves I have supplied from a later copy (that of 1598), and have collated with the edition of 1597. The variations are set down in the margin.’ He adds: ‘Mr Penn Ashton Curzon and Mr Kemble are possessed of copies of this original edition of this play: I know of no other, except that in this volume.’ Mr Kemble’s copy is now in the Devonshire Library, and Mr Curzon’s is probably the same which was sold at Mr Daniel’s sale and is now in the possession of Mr Huth. Besides the leaves of Malone’s copy which are missing, signatures C 3 and C 4 are imperfect, the upper half of each being supplied from the edition of 1598.

The second edition, also in Quarto, which we call Q₂, was published in the following year, with the name of the author. It is in other respects a reprint of the first. The title-page is as follows: