An Overview of Stylometry and Its Application to the Comedia

B U L L E T I N O F T H E C O M E D I A N T E S 2 0 2 2 – 2 3 | v ol / 7 4 N º 1 + 2 p r e p u b l i c at i o n ( p r o j e c t m u s e ) 1 D o n a l d R . L a r s o n D o n a l d R . L a r s o n D o n a l d R . L a r s o n Developments in computational analysis, corpus construction, and text editing have opened exciting new areas of inquiry in comedia studies. The first two decades of the twenty-first century have seen a swell of stylometric studies dedicated to comedias of unknown or disputed authorship. This essay gives an account of stylometry, or the quantitative analysis of textual evidence, and appraises it in plain, nontechnical language. Taking the perspective most germane to comedia studies, the article reviews stylometry’s place in authorship studies; considers the mechanics of performing it and some of the tests and methods employed; provides a brief history of stylometry in the early modern Spanish theater context; comments on the preparation of adequate texts and corpora; and offers conclusions about the overall implications of this mode of analysis. An Overview of Stylometry and Its Application to the Comedia1 Jane W. Albrecht Wake Forest University There is no shortage of authorship mysteries in early modern Spanish literature, including several renowned cases. The real name of “un tal Avellaneda” who produced the unauthorized sequel to Don Quijote, called the Segundo tomo del ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, is open to debate. Furthermore, the originator of the picaresque novel Lazarillo de Tormes, among the most studied texts in European literature, is still disputed.2 In comedia studies, there is uncertainty over who wrote El burlador de Sevilla and El condenado por desconfiado, as well as two other splendid plays, La estrella de Sevilla and El rey don Pedro en Madrid e infanzón de Illescas, among others.3 The first two decades of the twenty-first century have seen a swell of stylometric studies in the field, a number of which are dedicated to comedias of unknown or disputed authorship. I should like to give an account of this growing discipline and appraise stylometry in plain, nontechnical language. I will first review its place in authorship studies; next consider the mechanics of performing stylometry and some of the tests and methods employed; then offer a brief history of stylometry in the early modern Spanish theater context; and, last, comment on the preparation of adequate corpora and texts.4 I begin with two basic questions: what does it matter who wrote a given literary text, and what can stylometry offer scholars? First, why should anyone be concerned about authorship, be they general readers, students, scholarresearchers , theater directors, or actors? There are at least three answers RESE A R C H B U L L E T IN B U L L E T I N O F T H E C O M E D I A N T E S 2 0 2 2 – 2 3 | v ol / 7 4 N º 1 + 2 p r e p u b l i c at i o n ( p r o j e c t m u s e ) 2 to that query. Verifying the accuracy of the information we communicate in the public sphere, in classrooms, colloquia and theaters, and in print and electronic media, is fundamental to a civil society and the academic enterprise. This is simple good sense. We would not dream of misattributing a novel by a living author and then stand by and watch the error take root and spread over time. Rather, we would try to rectify the mistake by whatever responsible means we could muster. Next, since we approach a work in terms of others by the same writer (notwithstanding the demise and revival of the concept of author during the past fifty years), speaking of Galdosian or Dickensian themes, settings or characters, identifying...