Use of the n attribute and handling of line numbering
The WWP encodes n values on all elements for which the text provides a number, and uses these values for an idealized version of the numbering system used by the text.
We generate line numbers in poetry automatically, restarting the count at the beginning of every lg element. Any poetry with anomalous line numbering (for instance, numbering in the original which starts or restarts somewhere other than at the beginning of an <lg>) should have n=1 encoded on the first line. We will check texts for which a canonical edition already exists, and use their line numbering system if appropriate.
We do not number metrical or prose lines in drama, because references can more conveniently be made to page numbers in the original.
We use common sense to handle cases where different numbering sequences follow and confuse one another, as in the following examples (head elements and other details omitted for clarity):
div type=essay n=11. On Stoats [essay]/div
div type=essay n=22. On Ferrets [essay]/div
div type=essay n=33. On Ermines [essay]/div
div type=essay n=4On Weasels [essay]/div
div type=poemTo a Flower [poem]/div
div type=poemTo a Bird [poem]/div
div type=poemTo all Bad Poets/div
div type=sectionPoems on Insufficient Occasion
div type=poem n=11. On receiving a pot of wilted marigolds/div
div type=poem n=22. On writing a poem about wilted marigolds/div
div type=poem n=33. On failing to write a poem/div
div type=poem n=44. On suspecting one’s own deficiencies/div
/div
Presumably if the Weasel essay looks profoundly similar to the three foregoing essays, we wouldn’t be wrong to add the n=4. But if the Weasel essay looks profoundly different (for instance, it’s a translation of an essay by Li Hua, or it’s written in meter, or it’s much shorter or longer, or it’s really an allegorical religious satire whereas the previous essays were not) then we might not want to include the n=4.