First Folio

First Folio
the first collection of Shakespeare’s plays to be published. It consists of 36 plays and was published in 1623 by two actors who had worked with Shakespeare. Some of the individual plays had already been published, and were called quartos, but many of them contained mistakes. The First Folio is considered the first true and genuine written version of the plays. Copies of it are rare and very valuable.

* * *

▪ publication of Shakespeare’s plays
      first published edition (1623) of the collected works of William Shakespeare (Shakespeare, William), originally published as Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies. It is the major source for contemporary texts of his plays.

      The publication of drama in the early 17th century was usually left to the poorer members of the Stationers' Company (which issued licenses) and to outright pirates. The would-be publisher had only to get hold of a manuscript, by fair means or foul, enter it as his copy (or dispense with the formality (W.H., Mr.)), and have it printed. Such a man was Thomas Thorpe, the publisher of Shakespeare's sonnets (1609). The mysterious “Mr. W.H.” in the dedication is thought by some to be the person who procured him his copy.

      The first Shakespeare play to be published (Titus Andronicus, 1594) was printed by a notorious pirate, John Danter, who also brought out, anonymously, a defective Romeo and Juliet (1597), largely from shorthand notes made during performance. Eighteen of Shakespeare's plays were printed in quartos (books about half the size of a modern magazine) both “good” and “bad” before the First Folio (a large-format book) was published in 1623. The bad quartos are defective editions, usually with badly garbled or missing text.

      For the First Folio, a large undertaking of more than 900 pages, a syndicate of five men was formed, headed by Edward Blount (Blount, Edward) and William Jaggard. The actors John Heminge (Heminge, John) and Henry Condell (Condell, Henry) undertook the collection of 36 of Shakespeare's plays, and about 1,000 copies of the First Folio were printed, none too well, by Jaggard's son, Isaac.

      In 1632 a second folio was issued and in 1663 a third. The second printing (1664) of the latter included Pericles (which otherwise exists only in a bad quarto) and several other plays of dubious attribution, including The Two Noble Kinsmen (which appeared in a quarto of 1634 and is now thought to have been a collaboration of Shakespeare and John Fletcher) and Cardenio (now lost), as well as The London Prodigal and The History of Thomas Lord Cromwell. In 1685 the fourth and final folio was published.

Additional Reading
Charlton Hinman, The First Folio of Shakespeare, 2nd ed. (1996), is a facsimile edition. Textual studies include Alfred W. Pollard, Shakespeare Folios and Quartos: A Study in the Bibliography of Shakespeare's Plays, 1594–1685 (1909, reprinted 1970); Alice Walker, Textual Problems of the First Folio (1953, reprinted 1976); W.W. Greg, The Shakespeare First Folio (1955, reprinted 1969); Charlton Hinman, The Printing and Proof-Reading of the First Folio of Shakespeare, 2 vol. (1963); and J.K. Walton, The Quarto Copy for the First Folio of Shakespeare (1971).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • First Folio — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda William Shakespeare, retrato aparecido en el First Folio. First Folio, es el nombre atribuido a la primera publicación de la colección de obras teatrales de William Shakespeare. Contenía 36 obras y fue recopilado por …   Wikipedia Español

  • First Folio —   …   Wikipedia

  • First Folio — Premier Folio Couverture du Premier Folio, avec la célèbre gravure de Shakespeare par Martin Droeshout Le Premier Folio (anglais First Folio) est le nom donné par les spécialistes modernes à la première compilation publiée des œuvres théâtrales… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • First Folio Theatre — The First Folio Theatre is a not for profit theater company affiliated with the Actors Equity Association. Founded in 1996, First Folio, originally named First Folio Shakespeare Festival, is located on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate… …   Wikipedia

  • first folio — noun The 1623 published collection of William Shakespeares plays. The first such collection printed in folio format …   Wiktionary

  • (the) First Folio — the First Folio [the First Folio] the first collection of Shakespeare s plays to be published. It consists of 36 plays and was published in 1623 by two actors who had worked with Shakespeare. Some of the individual plays had already been… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Folio — may refer to: * In bookbinding, ** A sheet of paper, parchment, or other material folded in half to make two leaves in a codex. ** Mainly for manuscripts, a leaf (ie two pages). Manuscript pages are often traditionally physically marked with… …   Wikipedia

  • Folio — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El término folio puede hacer referencia a: Formato de papel, donde el folio es una hoja de papel de 215×315 mm. En encuadernación: Hoja de papel, de pergamino o de otro material que se dobla por la mitad para hacer… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Folio (text) — Folio is a term in printing used to describe a size of book common in the early modern era. It refers to large books typically measuring 15 (38 cm) or more in height. Folios were the largest size of regular book, and were typically reserved for… …   Wikipedia

  • folio — (n.) mid 15c., from L.L. folio leaf or sheet of paper, from L. folio, ablative of folium leaf, from PIE *bhulyom leaf (Cf. Gk. phyllon leaf, Gael. bile leaflet, blossom ), from root *bhel (2) to blow, inflate, swell (see BOLE (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”