The Hamlet First Quarto (1603) & the Play of Typography

Abstract:I argue that the First Quarto of Hamlet (1603) expresses a more intense sensitivity to polysemous typography than has been critically articulated. The orthography, typography, and layout functioned as rich sources of meaning-making for early modern readers, poets, and publishers. Performances happened on the playtext page that were often unavailable in a live theatrical setting. This article makes a crucial critical intervention by recuperating the poetic value of Q1, a text that has historically generated interest mostly within analytical bibliography, performance studies, and character studies. Readers were sensitive to how visual wordplay activated important themes to which my critical analysis attends.