Lesson 2: Follow-Up

Like the manuscript sample in the first lesson, this Caroline italic hand is regular, fairly modern in appearance, and legible. The main difficulties in transcribing these poems begin, as before, with consistent presentation of certain idiosyncratic scribal habits, such as abbreviation. Here, too, we encounter distinctions in the poem titles and the poem texts, the size of the hand in the titles tending to an engrossing appearance. Ornamented majuscules at the head of the title and first line in 'Annunciation' may also need special treatment. Exactly how you deal with these features is up to you, but it will probably make sense to try to notate them in some way, either by using bold face for the engrossing hand of the titles, or some recognizable symbol such as //xxx///.

Another consideration in these poems is the scribal habit of lineation and indentation; the indentation may reflect practice in the holograph original (however many generations removed we are here) and therefore may, at least in the short run, be all the more worth preserving. A good transcription will consistently represent this spacing in each of the poems, and include a note in the transcription policy to this effect.

Minor elements of this manuscript extract that might at first prove challenging include the use of vocalic v (as in 'vp', line 2 of 'Extasie') and consonantal u (see 'Conuenient' in line 24 of 'Extasie'); the 'ff' form of majuscule F; vocalic use of w (as in 'deuowt', line 2 of 'La Corona'); and the use of the virgule as a mark of final punctuation (see the end of 'La Corona'). The apparent ease and fluency of this hand might easily lull the incautious transcriber into ignoring these elements, or such early modern spellings such as 'antient'. Many of these habits are very common in documents of this period and earlier; taking a moment or two now to note them down will help you to remain alert in the future.

Further manuscript images of texts in this scribal hand are available via the 'index of manuscript images'; see item 54. If you prefer, you can access these images in the window above by selecting from the following links:

• John Donne, further 'Diuine Sonnets, Trinity College Library, MS R. 3. 12 [p. 52 +]
• John Donne, further 'Diuine Sonnets, Trinity College Library, MS R. 3. 12 [p. 53 +]
• John Donne, further lines from 'Extasie', Trinity College Library, MS R. 3. 12 [p. 232 +]
• John Donne, further lines from 'Extasie', Trinity College Library, MS R. 3. 12 [p. 233 +]

To conclude this lesson and return to the index of course lessons, close the current window.