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

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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, London, Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes ...

(then in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, now in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

), he attended

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

, Sussex, and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

. He taught at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

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 the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In 1925 he took on

Dorothy May Meads Dorothy May Meads (21 December 1891 – 20 October 1958) was a British historian and the principal of Bishop Otter College which is now the University of Chichester. She conducted the first major study of early women's education. Life Meads was ...

as a doctoral student to study early women's education, following on from his own work. This was said to be the first major study. 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 Cornish people, British writer who published using the pen name, pseudonym Q. Although a prolific novelist, he is remembered mainly for the monumental publication ''The Oxfor ...

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

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. Of those editions, the one of

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

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 * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1 ...

—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 texts. He was the husband of writer Shirley Jackson. L ...

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 a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

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. His ...

, 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 20th-century English male writers