The First Folio of Shakespeare In Modern Type

The First Folio of Shakespeare In Modern Type: Comedies, Histories & Tragedies
Written by William Shakespeare. Edited by Neil Freeman.
Publisher: Applause Books. Hardcover. 1200 pages.


In November 1623, seven years after William Shakespeare had died, a book containing 36 of his plays was published in London. Shakespeare's fellow actors, John Hemminge and Henry Condell, were the editors of the collection. The book was a large folio (a format with pages about as wide as those of a modern encyclopedia, but two or three inches taller). Nothing quite like it had ever been published in folio before.

This book is the First Folio, as it is most famously known. The actual title of the book is Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories & Tragedies.

At the time the First Folio was printed, only 18 of Shakespeare's plays had previously appeared in print. The rest were handwritten manuscripts, none of which survive today. Had those manuscripts not been typeset and included in the First Folio, half of Shakespeare's work would be completely lost to us today. It is hardly surprising that the First Folio has been called “incomparably the most important work in the English language.”

The First Folio is also of great value to actors, directors, and historians. Most of the handwritten manuscripts that were typeset for the publication of the book were copies obtained from stage prompters, and thus contained all original stage directions. These were typeset and included in the First Folio.

And now, for the first time, the First Folio has been painstakingly reproduced in its entirety in modern typeface, making it accessible to all.

"Given the many modern editions of Shakespeare's plays, it is easy to forget that the text is not fixed and that an examination of the original folio still reveals many features of importance and profit both to the scholar and the actor. Several facsimiles are available, including those of Charlton Hinman and Doug Moston. But because of the difficulties of photographic reproduction, coupled with the idiosyncrasies of the 1623 typeface, these tend to be more curiosities than interpretative tools to all but the most diligent.

To rectify this situation, Freeman, a trained actor, director, and professor of acting, directing, and writing (Univ. of British Columbia), has produced a modern type version of the original, which makes the textual features of the First Folio easily accessible. The volume presents all 36 plays, to which Freeman adds introductions and endnotes as well as a valuable introduction to the history of the First Folio and textual notes.

This landmark publication is printed in clear, legible type. Each play has its own comprehensive introduction as well as extensive, expert annotations. Highlighted areas show where lines have been altered over time and also shows where verse has been changed to prose in the past (but not here!) The original compositions are marked and folio clues are highlighted." - Library Journel

Contents:

1 The Tempest
2 The Two Gentlemen of Verona
3 The Merry Wives of Windsor
4 Measure for Measure
5 The Comedy of Errors
6 Much Ado About Nothing
7 Love's Labor's Lost
A Midsummer Night's Dream
9 The Merchant of Venice
10 As You Like It
11 The Taming of the Shrew
12 All's Well That Ends Well
13 Twelfth Night
14 The Winter's Tale
15 King John
16 Richard II
17 Henry IV, Part 1
18 Henry IV, Part 2
19 Henry V
20 Henry VI, Part 1
21 Henry VI, Part 2
22 Henry VI, Part 3
23 Richard III
24 Henry VIII
25 Troilus and Cressida
26 Coriolanus
27 Titus Andronicus
28 Romeo and Juliet
29 Timon of Athens
30 Julius Caesar
31 Macbeth
32 Hamlet
33 King Lear
34 Othello
35 Anthony and Cleopatra
36 Cymbeline