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This website has been designed to demonstrate the ways in which hypertext can enhance the reading, study, and analysis of literary texts. My research has convinced me that many scholars today approach electronic text with trepidation and confusion, not knowing what good it could do to move a text into an electronic environment and afraid of what could be lost if the world shifts to electronic editions of literary works. Although it may be some time before we curl up with a good electronic book, there are distinct ways that hypertext and electronic design can go beyond the "ills we have" with conventional texts, taking us to "undiscovered country"--hence the name of my site. Simple use of this site is meant to show what hypertext is capable of doing that traditional text is not. This site in no way attempts to provide an inexhaustible resource for Shakespeare and the Internet. Instead, I wish to demonstrate how electronic texts can help readers critically analyze and understand literary texts.
I have chosen the modern text based on the Oxford edition for two reasons. First, it is an authoritative text that is easier to understand than those with the original spellings. Second, I didn't want to retype the entire play, so I went to The Internet Public Library which had this text--including line numbers--and simply copied and pasted the entire play, again proving that the Internet is a wonderful source. I chose a text with numbers specifically to allow for easier referencing. When electronic editions are created, there are many considerations: scene divisions, attribution, editorial emendation, dating, annotation, line numbering, and more. Taking all of these into consideration, and realizing that I am only doing a sample of what I would consider to represent the best of what electronic Shakespeare has to offer, I chose to simply copy the Oxford text. The fact is, this site is dealing with Shakespeare; this is not a text people want tampered with. Scholars want to know that what they are reading is reliable and accurate. The mere fact that I--a lowly undergraduate student--put this edition of Hamlet on the web is evidence enough that just any old version will not do; what we find could be unreliable. The Internet provides, though, a medium that allows for the availability of various versions of Shakespeare's plays, along with annotations, collations, and analyses, that, although available in traditional texts, are much more cumbersome, expensive, and significantly less readily available.
My research led me to numerous text versions of Shakespeare's plays, but I did not find one (although I'm sure they do exist) that linked not to other sites but within the text as a way of analyzing it. Thus I have attempted here to provide at least a few links to places within the text that aid critical analysis of the scene. We can learn much from what Shakespeare said in other places in his text on similar topics, or places where he used the same words in context. George Landow, in his book about hypertext, discusses in detail how intertextuality enhances the ways we read and analyze literature. He explains and demonstrates how this is accomplished, and guided by these ideas, I came up with the design for Hamlet's famous "To Be" soliloquy that allows links to show how this intertextuality enhances reading. The page is meant to be what Landow calls "an unchanging axis from which radiate linked texts that surround it." For example, the text of the soliloquy remains on the page. When a line number is clicked, a menu on the left appears. From this menu, the reader can choose from a variety of links, one of which is "Full Text." This option provides links to the texts that enhance the reading of the particular line. This intertextual tool helps to analyze the line by reading other places and ways that Shakespeare uses these words in their context.The intertextual aspect proves that electronic text is simpler to use than flipping through pages trying to find a reference to another scene. The fact that there are virtually no sites that I could find with line links was astonishing. Some sites specifically mention that they left off line numbers because they are not a part of Shakespeare's original work; besides, they say, none of his scenes are really that long. Apparently they never tried to skim through a 295-line scene trying to find the word "question"! Many have also made the same complaint about the Bible. that Paul didn't number the lines of his letters, so neither should we. However, the numbering of lines is an invaluable way of quickly finding the text the reader is looking for. I know that there have been many times I have thought, as I was reading, that there was somewhere that a character had said something that was similar, used the same word or phrase, and finding this would add to my understanding of the text. The electronic text of Shakespeare, with links to numbered lines, can allow the reader to refer to virtually any line in the play and search the text quickly, an invaluable way of analyzing such complex works as Shakespeare's Hamlet. I realize all too well that this is a lot of work; however I believe it is a task worth the undertaking.
Hence I also provided a small concordance to further enhance this intertextual electronic benefit. Simply visiting Concordance.com proves that the electronic environment far surpasses any traditional concordance. However, this site, while it quickly and exhaustively provides a thorough concordance, again does not include line numbers. The reader is given the act and scene number, but finding the actual occurrence of the word is up to the reader. I found this to be terribly irritating. The benefit of my site is that it combines this concordance with line links so that the reader can not only find where Shakespeare has used the same word in his work, but can immediately link there without leaving the original text being studied.
A distinct difference between traditional text and electronic texts is the level of flexibility and permanence. While books can provide Shakespeare's work plus additional comments, annotations, and footnotes, once the text is printed and published, it is permanent. While some may see this as a good thing--and in many respects it is--the fact remains that even the best of texts are updated regularly and can end up with numerous editions. Electronic text, on the other hand, can be published on the web one day and changed the next. Thus, for example, I could continue to do research of the soliloquy I have chosen. As I make new discoveries and form new ideas, with minimal effort and virtually no cost I can simply change my text and upload my new "edition" the next day!
I have implemented a variety of ways that show how electronic annotation can enhance the text. Rather than little indicators that lead the reader to a footnote or sidenote or endnote, the cursor can simply mouse over any word that has an asterisk* and this will provide what I call a "mousenote." The mousenote is also meant to help eliminate what could be an overwhelming number of links. The reader is able to stay focused on the text, yet still have the benefit of a few short translations, comments, or explanations. The line link is meant to provide the user with further annotation and a small sample of some critical analyses that pertain to the text. Therefore the reader, rather than having to check out and read numerous texts, can have all these right next to the text to aid analysis and further study. The left menu is a way of keeping the actual text less cluttered while still providing as many links to other sources as possible. Also, as can be seen with this site, the mousenote allows for the comments of numerous authors and critics to appear at once. This way of reading actually allows the reader to make their own decisions about the meaning of the given text; the reader suddenly becomes a deconstructionist, realizing that often the text can mean many varying things depending on how one interprets the language. Hence the reader constructs his or her own meaning of the text, guided by the critics' ideas.
I have not used this site primarily as a means of connecting to other Shakespearean sites. (There are already plenty of sites that do this very well). However, during my research, I visited, learned from, and borrowed from many sites that I found useful in a variety of ways. I have only listed the ones I used and got ideas from. In my opinion, these are the best of the Shakespearean sites that the web has to offer.
The images listed are only a small collection of those downloaded from other sites. The primary purpose for including these in my site is to provide a small sampling of how web design can enhance text by including such multi-media. Rossetti's "The Question," for example, is a wonderful portrayal of Shakespeare's text being expressed through art. I realized, though, that there is little difference between an electronic site with images and a book with pictures. Adding sound and video does go beyond what traditional text can do, but these sources are, unfortunately, less readily available and have some copyright issues that I chose not to deal with. What I have included is meant to add to the text by making it a little more like a play and less like a book. There are sites that cover this aspect much more thoroughly, but my point is to here show that it can be done and can enhance the text. My goal is to provide a sample. No traditional or electronic text, however, can replace seeing the play performed.
In no way is my site complete in this area. I researched only a few texts that critically analyzed the soliloquy I chose, and integrated these into the site. The purpose here is to show how hypertext can bring together all these sources into one location, thereby providing the reader with a greater opportunity to analyze the text.
I have included these versions of the soliloquy to allow for comparison to the original languages and spellings. Folio 1 and Quarto 2 are very similar, yet have some subtle distinctions. comparing these to a modern text enhances a reader's understanding of the original language. Although Folio 1 and Quarto 2 are considered to be the only authoritative texts, I have also included Quarto 1 to show the drastic difference. The fact that this Quarto exists can help the reader to keep in mind the history of literature and how our views are swayed by what is fed to us as "authoritative."
R.G. Siemens says that a dynamic text "facilitates a non-linear interaction with the text, in essence, structuring and treating it as a database" says Siemens. In this electronic medium, then, a work like Hamlet is easily searchable: readers can do anything from a simple word search to a complex analysis of word relations and collations in this electronic environment. Statistical analysis and precise word searches are simplified, and analysis of patterns of distribution and semantic patterns are much easier. Although these types of searches are conceivable in a paper edition, the amount of time, money, and effort is impractical considering the electronic alternative. Hence, this site I have created is a sampling of how intertextual capabilities--here in the form of line numbered links (because I don't have such a database)--allow the reader to search through the text to discover their own understanding of the play.
The play as a hypertext edition "exploits the ability of hypertextual organization to facilitate a reader's interaction with the apparatus that traditionally accompanies scholarly editions, and with relevant external textual and graphical resources, critical materials, and so forth" (Siemens). In other words, hypertext puts a virtual library at your fingertips. Siemens mentions one such Macbeth site (he doesn't provide an address or link to it, but I think this is it) which is supposed to include "the text, its collation, commentary, annotation, a concordance, Royal Shakespeare Company audio performance, video clips from three film performances, and several critical essays centering in aspects of the play." This site is exemplary--although a very hard-on-the-eyes--of what hypertext can do that paper text reasonably cannot do. My site is but a sample of this hypertext environment, where the menu provides links to resources as well as intertextual links. As Siemens puts it, "the hypertextual edition produces a critical reader with, potentially, a more powerful grasp of that which is being read than one employing print resources alone."
Although my site is a simple and less-than-exhaustive site in terms of both hypertext and dynamic text, my aim is to show that word-based scholarship and analysis is simplified dramatically in such an electronic environment. The indexing, collation, attribution and linguistic analysis, content analysis, and interaction within the text that can be done in this medium would take a vast library to accomplish without such technology. What electronic Shakespeare does is facilitate a close relationship with reading and analysis by providing such extensive material in relation to the text with little effort on the part of the reader.
Although is seems that there is yet to be a site that provides a thorough union of both hypertext and dynamic text, I believe that it should and can exist. I have tried to show the beginnings of this possibility here in this site. And yet there can be problems, many of which I have discovered during the creation of this site. One is the time involved, where there is little or no money to be made. While it is an ideal project for students, for example, it is impractical to believe that a complete and thorough site as is sampled here would be produced without great time and effort. The fact that the creation of this site--a site that deals with a mere 30 or so lines of text--took about 60 hours to create THUS FAR makes this type of project slightly overwhelming. Other problems exist, as well. One of these is that the real scholarly work that can be done is often lost in the complex workings of the system, as is some of the more pertinent information lost in the myriad of Internet fluff. I noticed that, as I researched and studied, I spent a considerable amount of time in places that were less than helpful, clicking around and finding nothing of academic interest. Another problem is instability. The Internet is hardly a fixed entity. The mere fact that accessed material should provide date of access and date of posting proves that what is there today may not be there in the same way tomorrow. This can be less than comforting to someone who has depended on something that no longer exists as it did the day before. While Shakespeare's works themselves are less likely to change, the fact that I copied and pasted the entire text and could have made manors changes or errors in the process proves that what is on line isn't necessarily something we can trust as authoritative. Besides all this, the maintenance of such a site is a never-ending feat, as new information appears almost daily and should ideally be added and linked to regularly as it appears. I also provided the line of links at the bottom of the frame page so that the reader can, if they so choose, view any portion of the site without the frames--which can also be troublesome.
What happens, then, is that the reader, in such an electronic environment, becomes the Shakespearean editor, deciding what text they choose to read, how they choose to read it, how they want to interpret it, and what types of information they want to link to. I, for one, see this as both an advantage and a disadvantage. ?Where I am knowledgeable, this is beneficial as I am allowed to guide my own analysis. Where I am ignorant, however, this is detrimental, as my editorializing will be swayed not by scholarly research, but by my own opinion. It will be important in the future for teachers to be certain to guide serious students in their Shakespearean Internet experience. There also should be a clear distinction made between those scholarly sites and those which are mere Shakespearean fan club sites.
In Conclusion
This project has been more educational and fun than I ever could have imagined. During the hours I spent researching, I became aware of the vast difference between reliable information and unreliable junk. I have, in the past, been more skeptical of the World Wide Web because of the junk that exists there. However, it would be just as foolish to avoid the World Wide Web because of the junk it contains as it would be to avoid a library or a bookstore--there is a lot of junk in these places, too. I visited hundreds of websites and followed so many links that I often forgot where I started or what I had been looking for. Although this was sometimes irritating, it usually led me to someplace that was incredibly useful. One such example was Concordance.com, a site I found while browsing through links. It proved to be exceptionally useful to me and gave me the idea of providing these concordance links in my site.
After all of this research and time spent focusing on this one soliloquy, I now feel, too, that I am quite the expert on these 32 lines of text. I thought a lot about Hamlet's indecisiveness and hesistancy to act, and I realized that this very same skepticism and fear of the unknown exists about the "undiscovered country" of electronic texts. (That's where I got the idea for my site's title, obviously). While caution and accuracy are important--as they are in the paper text world--this is little reason to avoid this new and innovative medium altogether. It seems obvious, though, that the WWW should no longer simply be a resource for free texts, given the vast possibilities of electronic texts. Simply providing a few different editions is hardly taking advantage of all the magnificent things of which websites are capable . I hope that, by providing sites like mine for academic purposes and proving that there are significant benefits to providing such electronic Shakespearean texts, the literary world will be eager to go to that country "from whose bourne no traveller returns." I believe it is too late; we have already crossed that border. But it isn't suicide. Literature isn't dead. This new country isn't a dreamless sleep, but a new country, a place where exciting dreams can become reality. I truly hope to someday curl up with a great electronic text. I envision laptops that are small, easy on the eyes, inexpensive, and connected to a World Wide Web of great literature and extensive resources available for analyzing and understanding what we read. We cannot let conscience make cowards of us all.