King Lear

Printed texts
London in the late Elizabethan era was the book capital of the world but books were expensive. In his lifetime Shakespeare’s plays were, in a sense, ‘published’ in the playhouses, where they reached wide audiences: the Globe, for example, is thought to have held as many as 3,000 people at a single performance. Fortunately though, Shakespeare’s plays (which belonged to his acting company) were published both during his life time and after his death. Some were assembled from memory, printed and sold to raise money for the company. Printed copies were often different to the versions audiences saw in the theatre.

A playwright's original manuscript, often covered in corrections and alterations, is called a 'foul paper'. None of Shakespeare's foul papers have survived but three pages of a play, Sir Thomas Moore, exist and are thought to be written in Shakespeare's hand. The much-revised manuscript, written in a number of different hands, is in the British Library. (For more information, see the preface to the 'hand D' extract in the Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works edited by Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor).

Quartos
18 of Shakespeare's plays were individually printed during his lifetime (Othello followed in 1622) on large sheets of paper folded twice to give 'quartos' - i.e. four 'leaves' or eight pages.

The corrupt texts written down by actors who had performed in the plays are called the 'bad' quartos.

The texts produced from Shakespeare's own manuscripts (or transcripts of them) are called 'good' quartos.

229 quarto editions of the plays can be found in the Folger Shakespeare library in Washington DC, USA.

Folios
'Folio' is the Latin word for 'leaf'. Each 'leaf' was a large sheet of paper folded in half (i.e. twice the size of a quarto). In 1623 two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors, Henry Condell and John Heminges, published 36 of Shakespeare’s plays in a book now called the First Folio.

The First Folio is based on the printed quartos and manuscripts, some of which were annotated for performance. Roughly 12,000 copies of the First Folio were printed between February 1622 and November 1623, of which 230 survive, 79 in the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. The Folger also houses 118 copies of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th edition Folios.


			London in the late Elizabethan era was the book capital of the world but books were expensive. In his lifetime Shakespeare’s plays were, in a sense, ‘published’ in the playhouses, where they reached wide audiences: the Globe, for example, is thought to have held as many as 3,000 people at a single performance. Fortunately though, Shakespeare’s plays (which belonged to his acting company) were published both during his life time and after his death. Some were assembled from memory, printed and sold to raise money for the company. Printed copies were often different to the versions audiences saw in the theatre. A playwright's original manuscript, often covered in corrections and alterations, is called a 'foul paper'. None of Shakespeare's foul papers have survived but three pages of a play, Sir Thomas Moore, exist and are thought to be written in Shakespeare's hand. The much-revised manuscript, written in a number of different hands, is in the British Library. (For more information, see the preface to the 'hand D' extract in the Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works edited by Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor). 18 of Shakespeare's plays were individually printed during his lifetime (Othello followed in 1622) on large sheets of paper folded twice to give 'quartos' - i.e. four 'leaves' or eight pages. The corrupt texts written down by actors who had performed in the plays are called the 'bad' quartos. The texts produced from Shakespeare's own manuscripts (or transcripts of them) are called 'good' quartos. 229 quarto editions of the plays can be found in the Folger Shakespeare library in Washington DC, USA. 'Folio' is the Latin word for 'leaf'. Each 'leaf' was a large sheet of paper folded in half (i.e. twice the size of a quarto). In 1623 two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors, Henry Condell and John Heminges, published 36 of Shakespeare’s plays in a book now called the First Folio. The First Folio is based on the printed quartos and manuscripts, some of which were annotated for performance. Roughly 12,000 copies of the First Folio were printed between February 1622 and November 1623, of which 230 survive, 79 in the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. The Folger also houses 118 copies of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th edition Folios.