On the canonization of Edward III

In recent decades, the apocryphal play Edward III has undergone a process of canonization: after Giorgio Melchiori’s fundamental edition for the New Cambridge Shakespeare (1998) and its inclusion both in the second edition of The Oxford Shakespeare (2005) and in The New Oxford Shakespeare (2016), the recent publication of the long-announced edition, by Richard Proudfoot and Nicola Bennett, for the Arden Shakespeare Third Series (2017) seems to ratify the definitive admission of the play to the Shakespeare canon. This process, however, has taken place in the context of heated debates over the notions of ‘canon’ and 'author’ which render the concept itself of ‘canonization’ problematic. Taking its cue from the recent Arden edition, this essay aims to review some key moments in the publication history of Edward III and to highlight the peculiarities that make its Shakespearean attribution a unique case study worthy of further critical scrutiny.