Editing the Comedia, II (review)

Reviews117 is both seductive and productive; and it is likely to engender yet another generation ofcritical progeny. Barbara Simerka Davidson College McGaha, Michael D. and Frank P. Casa. Editing the Comedia, II. Ann Arbor : Michigan Romance Studies, Vol. XI, 1991. Paper 165 pp. $10.00. The general approval with which the publication in 1985 of Editing the Comedia was greeted, called for a complementary volume to expand and enrich the offerings ofthe first volume. The editors, Frank P. Casa and Michael D. McGaha, have this time assembled essays dealing primarily with the issue ofwhat constitutes a critical edition. The first contribution by Carol Bingham Kirby is a lucid and practical introduction to solid investigation based on the experience of medievalists. For the author a critical edition is "the reconstruction of the lost archetype, the text from which all extant versions must derive and the version closest to the original of the author" (p.2). We shall see that other scholars view this subject from a different perspective. J. M. Ruano de la Haza, after a lengthy discussion of what is meant by the original ofa dramatic text (one that reflects the author'sfinal intention), makes a convincing, handily illustrated and copiously annotated case for the eclectic method of editing. He reaches a clearcut, workable conclusion according to which "The author of a critical edition is not just a clerk who must confine himselfto transcribing the original; on the contrary, he should use his faculty to choose, alter, add or omit readings, as long as he does so in keeping with clearly defined criteria and indicates what he has done in a footnote or by means of a facsimile reproduction ofthe text. What is never permissible is silently altering the original" (p. 61). This echo of Don Cruickshank's example of an editor who ventures beyond textual criticism sounds very encouraging to a would be practicioner who finds little satisfaction in a mere facsimile reproduction now that technical means are available to do that with relative ease. Margaret Rich Greer makes a plea for printing multiple authorial versions of a play where they exist and, as far as possible, employing the facing-page format. This strategy enables the student to see and understand the predicament of the theatre director who had 77??BCom, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Summer 1994) to create a script for performance from various sources and to appreciate this complex social process when dealing with the comedia. A handy list of "Sources ofInformation on Golden Age Actors and Actresses" supplements her study. The many problems posed by sueltas are enumerated and discussed by Don W. Cruickshank who provides a very helpful list of books, pamphlets and articles on the subject. The thorny issue of attribution of plays is introduced by Constance H. Rose. Although a great variety of strategies have been employed, many Golden Age plays have remained unassigned. Therefore the very last sentence : "Each play and each author has his own demands, and each requires patience" (p.133) is very valid. For those who are considering using microcomputers to edit comedia texts, Charles Ganelin provides an introduction to the Macintosh computer and appropriate software, explaining its suitability for this type ofwork. Finally, John B. Wooldridge has appended a list ofpublications on editing comedia texts. This practitioner oícomedia editing wishes he had studied some ofthese suggestions before embarking on his chore. It may not, however, be too late for many who are new to the field to learn from the valuable experience of their learned colleagues. Florian Smieja University ofWestern Ontario Profeti, Maria Grazia. La vil quimera de este monstruo cómico. Estudios sobre el teatro del Siglo de Oro. Kassel: Edition Reichenberger, 1992. Maria Grazia Profeti offers, in this collection, nineteen of her articles on Golden Age drama published since 1980 (with the exception of one published in 1976) encompassing a wide range of critical methodologies. The essays are a testament to the breadth and depth ofProfeti's critical and editiorial acumen. They offer the broadest possible view of the trajectory of her scholarship—from the theater of Juan del Encina to Alberto Arbasino's twentieth-century rendering oí Elprincipe constante (?principe costante); from Golden Age...