Duxfield, Andrew. “Modern Problems of Editing: The Two Texts of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus.” Literature Compass 2, no. 1 (January 2005). doi:10.1111/j.1741-4113.2005.00143.x.
Duxfield’s article points out that for centuries, there
has been debate about which version of Doctor Faustus is superior or more
original because the differences are between the two texts are
significant. The article points out that,
“much of the scholarly debate on Faustus over the last century has focused on which
text is more ‘Marlowe's’, and hence which should be used as the copy text for
an authoritative edition of the play” (Duxfield). During the 1950’s, W.W. Greg asserted the B
text was the original, but in 1975, Constance Brown Kuriyama argued that
the A text was the more original. Duxfield
states this debate has influenced editors who often produce single text editions
of the play based on which text they consider most authorial. Because of this, “Doctor
Faustus has been presented as a single text play,
or, to put it simply, as a play that has a right text and a wrong text, the
decision over which is down to the editor” (Duxfield). Duxfield states this can no longer be the
case, that it is the job of the editor to determine what was meant by the
author, not by the opinions of others.
Duxfield gives several examples where the A and B texts differ, stating
that the examples illustrate how “editorial decisions can alter or suppress the
meanings of short passages of text.”
The crux of Duxfield’s argument becomes that editing has changed. No longer can an editor state which version
of the play is superior or more correct.
Instead, editors today must present both versions and let the texts lead
to a discussion of which each means on its own and what the differences between
the texts may signify.
-Rachelle Durrant
