- description
- # Discrepancies among extant exemplars.
## Overview
This section, titled "Discrepancies among extant exemplars," is a textual document from January 30, 2026. It is part of Chapter III of a larger collection.
## Context
This section was extracted from the file `pdf-01KG6Q7Q25RHMFT3SJXPV18VFF.txt`, which is part of the collection "[PDF Workflow Main Test 2026-01-30T00:26:53](arke:01KG6NWQ2H2K4PGG7H4ZHYCZ3Y)". It follows the section "[The text and typography of the first edition.](arke:01KG6S5HRF6GHX2BJNCMRMDNXB)" and precedes "[The Bodleian copy, I. Unique readings.](arke:01KG6S5HRFMQXJHXZCE4W05J4T)".
## Contents
The text discusses variations found in different copies of an early edition of a work, likely by Shakespeare, given the mention of "Shakespeare's works" and the poem *Venus and Adonis*. It suggests that the author may not have personally supervised the production of the first edition, despite its relatively careful typography. The section explains that the original edition's type was kept standing after initial printing, leading to minor changes in subsequent impressions. These changes resulted in discrepancies between surviving copies, such as variations in typographical errors or the inclusion or exclusion of corrections. The author of this section posits that these alterations were likely made by proofreaders rather than Shakespeare himself.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T06:25:51.688Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- Discrepancies among extant exemplars.
- end_line
- 3658
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T06:24:08.801Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 3655
- text
- Discrepancies among extant exemplars.
It is improbable that the author supervised the production of the first edition, but greater care was taken in its typography than in the case of any other of Shakespeare’s works,—not excepting *Venus and Adonis*. The work is not free from misprints nor from other typographical irregularities. But an effort was made to reduce their number to the lowest possible limit. The original edition was printed off slowly; the type was kept standing after the first impressions left the office, and small changes were subsequently introduced into the standing type, with the result that the few surviving copies of the first edition show small discrepancies among themselves. One impression is freer from typographical errors than another, or a correction which has been made in one copy, with a view to improving the sense or the grammar, is absent from another copy. The alterations are not always intelligent, and it is unlikely that Shakespeare had any hand in them.
- title
- Discrepancies among extant exemplars.