John Dover Wilson CH (13 July 1881 – 15 January 1969) was a professor and scholar of Renaissance drama, focusing particularly on the work of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. Born at

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centu ...

(then in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, now in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

), he attended

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

, Sussex,

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

and taught at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

before becoming

Regius Professor A Regius Professor is a university Professor (highest academic rank), professor who has, or originally had, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Republic ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Wilson was primarily known for two lifelong projects. He was the chief editor, with the assistance of Sir

Arthur Quiller-Couch Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (; 21 November 186312 May 1944) was a British writer who published using the pseudonym Q. Although a prolific novelist, he is remembered mainly for the monumental publication '' The Oxford Book of English Verse 1 ...

, of the ''New Shakespeare,'' a series of editions of the complete plays published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

. Of those editions, the one of

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

was his particular focus, and he published a number of other books on the play, supporting the textual scholarship of his edition as well as offering an interpretation. His ''What Happens in Hamlet,'' first published in 1935, is among the more influential books ever written on the play, being reprinted several times including a revised second edition in 1959. Wilson's textual work was characterised by considerable boldness and confidence in his own judgement. His work on the complicated matter of the transmission of Shakespeare's texts—none of Shakespeare's manuscripts survive and no published edition of any play was supervised directly by the playwright, so all of the texts are mediated by compositors and

printers Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jam ...

—was highly respected, though some of his theories have since been eclipsed by new scholarship. However, when the textual principles he painstakingly established did not support the reading that seemed right to him, he would depart widely from them, earning him a reputation for both brilliance and capriciousness;

Stanley Edgar Hyman Stanley Edgar Hyman (June 11, 1919 – July 29, 1970) was an American literary critic who wrote primarily about critical methods: the distinct strategies critics use in approaching literary Writing, texts. He was the husband of writer Shirley Jac ...

refers to the "valuable (sometime weird)" ''New Shakespeare''. In his interpretations that juxtaposition was heightened without the support of his arduous textual work. These interpretations included a reading of the famous bedroom scene between Hamlet and his mother that remains influential (if frequently questioned) to this day, but also peculiar ideas about covert

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

and almost completely unsourced speculation about Shakespeare's relationship with his son-in-law. The influential Shakespearean

W. W. Greg Sir Walter Wilson Greg (9 July 1875 – 4 March 1959), known professionally as W. W. Greg, was one of the leading bibliographers and Shakespeare scholars of the 20th century. Family and education Greg was born at Wimbledon Common in 1875. H ...

, Wilson's nemesis, once referred to Wilson's ideas as "the careerings of a not too captive balloon in a high wind."Quoted by Hyman, 184. In 1969 he completed a posthumously-published memoir, ''Milestones on the Dover Road''.

Major works

*''The New Shakespeare''. Cambridge University Press, 1921–1969 (Editor). *''Life in Shakespeare's England: A Book of Elizabethan Prose.'' Cambridge UP, 1911. (reissued by

, 2009; ) *''The Elizabethan Shakespeare.'' Milford, 1929. *''The Essential Shakespeare: A Biographical Adventure.'' Cambridge UP, 1932. *''The Fortunes of Falstaff.'' Cambridge UP, 1944. *''What Happens in Hamlet.'' 2nd edition. Cambridge UP, 1959. *''Shakespeare's Happy Comedies.'' Faber and Faber, 1962.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, J. Dover 1881 births 1969 deaths People from Richmond, London English literary critics Academics of King's College London Academics of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Shakespearean scholars People educated at Lancing College Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge