It is notable that writers and editors have not always been content to grant Shakespeare leniency in these matters. Alexander Pope, in editing the Bard’s works, was prone to removing double superlatives (as well as other instances of questionable syntax). In Julius Caesar, Pope changed the immortal line “this was the most unkindest cut of all” to the somewhat blander “This, this, was the unkindest cut of all,” rendering Antony grammatically correct but removing some of the essence of the line.
