Accidental Shakespeare asks what kind of information the early texts of Shakespeare’s plays preserve and transmit. TheNew Bibliographic orthodoxy of distinguishing “substantive” featuresof early editions(words) from “accidental” features(punctuation, spelling, and anything else affecting the “formal presentation” of the text) has long shaped the editing, teaching, and study of Shakespeare. By examiningthe fact and concept of textual “accident” in a variety ofpre-modern and modern contexts, this project aims to show that notionsof “Shakespeare” have always been contingent on the unintentional and extra-lexical attributes of hisplays in print.