- description
- # **Capitals and italics.**
## Overview
This is a section titled "**Capitals and italics.**" extracted from the text file [pdf-01KG6Q7Q25RHMFT3SJXPV18VFF.txt](arke:01KG6S2X2EBB305ENM00G16GWA). It is part of the [FACSIMILE OF THE EDITION OF 1609](arke:01KG6S4GWQC7KPJ59BAYCY3HXR) frontmatter. The section discusses the inconsistent use of capitalization and italics in the original text.
## Context
The section is part of a larger analysis of the facsimile edition of Shakespeare's works, specifically within the [PDF Workflow Main Test 2026-01-30T00:26:53](arke:01KG6NWQ2H2K4PGG7H4ZHYCZ3Y) collection. It follows the section "[Irregularities of punctuation.](arke:01KG6S5J9X8QSFHNJNXBBP26W0)" and precedes "A Lovers Complaint." This placement suggests a detailed examination of the printing conventions and inconsistencies present in the 1609 edition.
## Contents
The section highlights the irregular use of capital letters and italic type within the lines of the original text. It notes that both appear infrequently and seemingly at the compositor’s discretion. The text points out the tendency to italicize unfamiliar or foreign words and names, often with an initial capital letter, but notes that the printer of the sonnets frequently deviated from established customs. Examples are provided, such as the varying italicization of the word "Rose" and other terms like "Alchemy" and "Audite." The section also includes examples of bracket usage and instances of perplexing punctuation or lack thereof.
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- **Capitals and italics.**
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- text
- **Capitals and italics.**
Considerable irregularity characterizes the use of capital letters within the line or of italic type. Both appear rarely and at the compositor’s whim. It was the natural tendency to italicize unfamiliar or foreign words and names and to give them an initial capital in addition. But the printer of the sonnets usually went his own way without heed of law or custom.²
to a woman, is unsupported by authority or by the precise position of the brackets. They are directly attached to the single sonnet (CXXVI), and point to some imagined hiatus within its limits.
¹ Brackets, in the absence of commas, are helpful in such lines as these:
| Whilst I (my soueraine) watch the clock for you | LVII. 6. |
| --- | --- |
| Oh let me suffer (being at your beck) | LVIII. 5. |
| O if (I say) you looke vpon this verse | LXXI. 9. |
| When I (perhaps) compounded am with clay | 10. |
| Or (being wrackt) I am a worthlesse bote | LXXX. 11. |
Brackets are wrongly introduced in lines like:
| But since your worth (wide as the Ocean is) | LXXX. 5. |
| --- | --- |
| Bound for the prize of (all to precious) you, | LXXXVI. 2. |
The absence of all punctuation within the line in such lines as these is very perplexing:
| Which vsed llues th’ executor to be. | IV. 14. |
| --- | --- |
| Sings this to thee thou single wilt proue none. | VIII. 14. |
In several places a mark of interrogation takes the place of one of exclamation with most awkward effect.
² ‘Rose’ is used twelve times: it is italicized once (I. 2); the names of other flowers are not italicized at all (cf. XXV. 6, XCIV. 14, XCVIII. 9, XCIX. 6). ‘Alchemy’ (alcumie) is used twice: it is once italicized (CXIV. 4) and once not (XXXIII. 4). ‘Audite’ is used thrice, and is twice italicized. ‘Autumn’ appears twice, and is once italicized: ‘spring’, ‘summer’, and ‘winter’ are never thus distinguished. The following are the other italicized words in the sonnets: *Abisme* (CXII. 9); *Adonis* (LIII. 5); *Alien* (LXXVIII. 3);
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A Lovers Complaint.
- title
- **Capitals and italics.**