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Before printing, the play was often transcribed by a scribe (one has been identified, a certain Ralph Crane). The copy for the printer was thus clear, but less informative* than the originals. There were probably several manuscript versions of a given play.
- The Printing Press
Shakespeare may have proofed his long poems, but he...
- Ay, There's The Point
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub, For in...
- Making Paper
. . . and so on, including sheets folded up to 6 times, to...
- A Tax Collector
Shakespeare's manuscripts; Making paper; The printing press;...
- Problems in The Plays
Juliet's famous lines about the rose were misquoted for many...
- Censorship
The result of this edict was that many plays had to be...
- Pirated
Part of the preface to the First Folio by Heminge and...
- The First Folio
The "First Folio" was the first collected edition of...
- The Printing Press
In 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies was published. This printing offered readers in a single book thirty-six of the thirty-eight plays now thought to have been written by Shakespeare, including eighteen that had never been printed before.
Shakespeare's plays are widely regarded as among the greatest in the English language and are continually performed around the world. The plays have been translated into every major living language.
Although 19 of Shakespeare's plays had been published in quarto before 1623, the First Folio is arguably the only reliable text for about 20 of the plays, and a valuable source text for many of those previously published.
The First Folio (the book that gave us Shakespeare) and what came after. From playhouse to film sets, explore four centuries of staging Shakespeare. Find out about Shakespeare's life in Stratford and London. See manuscripts, paintings, costumes, and more from the Folger collection.
Quick answer: Shakespeare's plays were preserved through quartos and the First Folio. Quartos were printed copies made during his life from scripts used in performances. Eighteen plays...
People also ask
How were Shakespeare's plays preserved?
Why did Shakespeare become a school subject?
When did Shakespeare start writing plays?
How many Shakespeare plays were printed in a book?
We don't know exactly when Shakespeare started writing plays, but they were probably being performed in London by 1592, and he's likely to have written his final plays just a couple of years before his death in 1616.
