Text, Stage, and Page: Garrick, Johnson, and the Editing of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Eighteenth Century

Abstract

This article examines two contemporary eighteenth-century editions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare: David Garrick’s stage adaptation (1763) and Samuel Johnson’s critical edition (1765). Challenging the view that textual variation is primarily explained by chronological distance from the moment of authorship, the study argues that such variations respond chiefly to specific cultural, commercial, and interpretative aims. The analysis is structured around the concepts of authorial intention and editorial intention, showing how each editor negotiates Shakespeare’s authority in different ways. Garrick, working from theatrical practice, treats the play as a flexible and functional text: he introduces cuts, simplifications, and structural adjustments to ensure dramatic effectiveness and audience reception. His approach is grounded in stage experience and privileges economy and immediacy. Johnson, by contrast, belongs to the scholarly tradition that seeks to establish and stabilise the text through an extensive critical apparatus of notes and commentary that mediate its meaning. Although they differ in their editorial principles and strategies, both participate in a shared cultural horizon that aims to affirm Shakespeare as a central figure in the British literary canon.