Prototyping an Electronic Edition of William Blake’s Manuscript of Vala, or the Four Zoas: A Progress Report

Abstract

This article describes the recent experiments undertaken by the William Blake Archive in preparing a digital edition of Vala, or the Four Zoas, one of Blake’s most materially challenging works. The aim is to provide users with multiple tools for analysing Blake’s messy and mysterious manuscript: a high-quality image of the manuscript page paired with a dynamic transcription that allows readers to choose the level of detail they want for understanding what it is, precisely, they are looking at. However, the existing encoding standards and display were revealed to be totally inadequate by the complexity of The Four Zoas, and early models were almost impossible to read and understand. The article traces the journey towards the latest prototype as the team try to strike a balance between detail and accessibility, description and interpretation, readability and reliability, and established conventions and new approaches.