As compelling as I find the electronic potential of textual editing, performance studies and pedagogy, I am most intrigued by the new possibilities for criticism. However, the arrival of Shakespearean criticism in hypertext and web format poses its own particular problems in production and reception. In fact, so far there is relatively little actual Shakespearean criticism available on the Web, although there are many text resources. My essay takes advantage of the links of hypertext to explore these issues on three different levels:
This essay is "webbed" and therefore supposedly nonlinear, but I bow to the linear essay model by including my conclusions, which you can access through several other pages. I also offer a linear version of the essay (33k), which does not enact the arguments as directly. I am exploring the potential that the Web has to offer for Shakespearean criticism generally, so that I often address literary criticism on the Web as a general category. However, my essay also includes an array of examples of how such potential might be realized for Shakespearean criticism particularly, using:You can go to any of these sites directly. And, of course, Puck's image breaking out of the page will always bring you back here!
If you have any comments, please send them to Laurie Osborne