This part of the editorial apparatus for P.B. Shelley's The Devil's Walk is slightly modified from the way it will appear in The Complete Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley, edited by Donald H. Reiman and Neil Fraistat and published by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Our copy-text, which we transcribe diplomatically, is Shelley's letter to Elizabeth Hitchener of ?16 January 1812 (BLib Add. MS 37496, f. 80v). We collate our Text of the letter version of the poem with 1890, 1927/i, 1927/viii, 1964J, 1972, 1989, and MYR/viii. For full citations of the historical (i.e. not primary) editions, see the bibliography.
We have omitted from our comprehensive collation all variants that seem to us purely formal features of the printers or publishers involved in these editions, such as the length of indentions, the use of full capitals, small caps, and italic or Gothic type in the titles and subtitlesa practice at one time subject to the fonts available in a print-shop or the conventions of its compositorial staff and more recently under the control of publishers, book designers, and copy-editors. In a like manner, when quotation marks have been added, we have not differentiated between single and double quotation marks. Instead, we treat both as double quotes unless evidence suggests an editorial rather than typographical explanation for the appearance of the single quotes.
Note: The letter version appears once in volume 1 and again in volume viii of Ingpen's & Peck's 1927 edition of The Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. We collate each below under the sigla 1927/i and 1927/viii.
line 1. a walking ] a-walking 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
day ] day, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 2. Hell ] Hell. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 3. array ] array; 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 4. drest ] dressed 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 5. pry, whether ] pry whether 1972
pry | Whether 1890 1927/i 1927/viii
line 6. well ] well. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972
line 7. small ] sma[ll] 1964J
line 8. wd. ] would 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
wd. 1964J 1989
there ] there, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
ther[e] 1964J
line 9. creatures ] creatures! 1890 1927/i 1927/viii
creatures, 1972
all ] all, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii
a[ll] 1964J
line 10. dress ] dress, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
ball ] ball: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
ba[ll] 1964J
line 11. The ] The 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
there ] there. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972
line 12. stole ] stole, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
sto[le] 1964J
line 13. view ] view. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 14. Grinning ] Receiving 1989 MYR/viii
applause, he] applause | He 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
shews ] shows 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
claws ] claws: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
claw[s] 1964J
line 15. they ] they underline is stricken through MYR/viii
line 16. fright, ] fright 1972
fright, from ] fright | From 1890 1927/i 1927/viii
his ] his omnia
line 17. do ] do. omnia
line 18. whom ] whom, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
prayer ] prayer, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
praye[r] 1964J
line 19. devil ] Devil 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
sate ] sat 1964J
side ] side, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 20. that ] that, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
devil ] Devil 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
were ] were [there], 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
were [there] 1964J 1989
line 21. couldnt ] couldn't 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
abide, ] abide. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 22. Ha ha ] "Ha ha!" 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
old ] Old 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
Nick, thats ] Nick, | "That's 1890 1927/i 1927/viii
Nick, "That's 1890 1972
trick
very stale ] very stale trick: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
^
line 23. For ] For, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
Devil, ô ] Devil, | O 1890 1927/i 1927/viii
Devil, O 1964J 1972
favorite ] favourite 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
evil ] evil, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 24. ride ] ride!" 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
ride. 1964J
line 25. the Devil ] the Devil [? a Lawyer] 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J
a Lawyer 1972
the Devil [for a lawyer] 1989
line 26. table ] table: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
his ] this/his "his" is superimposed on "this" MYR/viii
line 28. Abel ] Abel. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972
line 29. Brainless] brainless 1890
King ] king; 1890
King; 1927/i 1972
King, 1927/viii
line 30. In ... own] Many imps he saw there on the wing: 1890
own ] own. 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 31. Many ... wi[ng] ] In a house as hot as his own. 1890
wi[ng] ] wing: 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
win[g] 1964J
wing 1989 MYR/viii
line 32. pennon ] pennon, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
and ] & 1989
twiste[d] ] twisted 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
twirle[d] 1989 MYR/viii
sting ] sting, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 33. throne ] throne. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972
line 34. Ah! Ah ] "Ah ah!" 1890 1927/i 1927/viii
Satan ] Satan, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
the ] "the 1890 1927/i 1927/viii
go[od] ] good! 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
good 1964J 1989 MYR/viii
line 35. here ] here 1890
here 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972 1989
oth[ers] ] others! 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
others 1989
other[s] MYR/viii
line 36. food, ] food 1972
food, news ] food | News 1890 1927/i 1927/viii
human
s] human omniablood ] blood: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 37. & ] and 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
dead ] dead, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 38. bed ] bed, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 39. Wch. ] Which 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
Wch. 1964J
Wch 1989
brothers . ] brothers." 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
brothers. 1964J 1989
line 40. Park ] Park, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 41. bond ] Bond 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
beau ] beau: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 42. For
altho ] Nor, although 1890Nor, tho' 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
Nor tho 1964J
For tho 1989
dark ] dark, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 43. wide ] wide, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
out ] out, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 44. snout ] snout, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 45. calld ] called 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972
so, so . . ] so-so. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
so, so. 1964J 1989 MYR/viii
line 46. wide ] wide, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 47. & ] And 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
shew ] show 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
hore ] horse 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
[? horse] 1964J
Iron 1989 MYR/viii
within ] within? 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 48. Nine and ninety ] Nine-and-ninety 1890
Nine & ninety 1989
side ] side, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
line 49. reckoning _ ] reckoning! 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972
reckoning 1964J 1989
__ ] omitted MYR/viii