Humanissimo lectori:

Welcome to Discoveries.

In this first issue of the journal’s 28th year, Tim Turner examines Shakespeare’s use of words such as racking, torture, and torment, in their physical, psychological, and metaphorical senses. Careful observations throughout the piece testify to Turner’s close study of the plays, and a highlight shines out in his insightful connection of Sonnet 133, which makes extensive use of torment imagery, with Sonnet 134—which ostensibly does not.

Form follows content in Elizabeth Bobo’s offering: a short article with lengthy notes, about a small book with a lengthy index—Jacob Tonson’s 1711 edition of Paradise Lost. Tonson, a key figure in opening up Milton to a wider readership, used several strategies to this end, one of which was creating a pocket edition with an extensive index. This tool for readers catered to the spirit of autodidacticism of the time and allowed less-educated readers to approach the epic piecemeal, according to topics that interested them. By means of including a special section on similes, emphasizing the dramatic qualities of the epic, and reconstructing the author-figure in a way that sanitized Milton of his radical political and theological reputation, Tonson made sound business moves which helped buoy Milton’s star in the literary firmament.

In the reviews section, Alan Altimont critiques Nigel Smith’s new biography of Andrew Marvell, while Kate Pogue brings to our attention a collection of essays entitled Weyward Shakespeare, which focuses on the issue of race in Macbeth from the American Civil War up through the present day.

This issue marks my first as Editor, having succeeded founding Editor Phoebe S. Spinrad (1984-2004) and David Reinheimer (2004-2011). It is also the first to be presented in its new online guise. The new site was created upon the WordPress blogging platform, chosen for its ease of use, customizability, popularity, and aesthetic flexibility. Readers are invited to take advantage of the Comments feature, which enables (moderated) interaction with those authors who are still alive and who read comments. The Archives page lays out all the articles and book reviews currently available online, and the search box brings hidden content to light more easily than ever before.

The site is, and will likely always remain, a work in progress. Suggestions for improvements may be sent to me through the Contact page, while corrections of errors may be sent to me or posted in the comments section of individual pieces. I look forward to hearing from you, and to doing my best to bring quality content to the site.

Vale,
Arlen Nydam
Austin, Texas
18 September 2011