description Shakespeare's First Folio Overview
Shakespeare’s First Folio is a printed edition of William Shakespeare's plays assembled in 1623 by John Heminges and Henry Condell. It contains 36 works, representing the majority of Shakespeare’s surviving plays at the time. This rare book provides invaluable access to his dramatic output and is essential for scholars, literary historians, and anyone studying Elizabethan literature. Approximately 235 copies exist today, making it a highly sought-after artifact.
help Shakespeare's First Folio FAQ
Which Shakespeare plays might have been lost without the First Folio?
The 1623 volume preserved 18 plays that had not previously appeared in print. They include Macbeth, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Antony and Cleopatra.
Who assembled Shakespeare's First Folio?
John Heminges and Henry Condell, fellow actors in the King's Men, helped assemble the collection seven years after Shakespeare's death. Its title is Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies.
Does the First Folio contain every Shakespeare play?
No. It contains 36 plays, but Pericles and The Two Noble Kinsmen are absent, as are the poems and sonnets.
Why do different First Folio copies contain textual variations?
Printers corrected type while sheets were already being printed, so bound copies can combine different corrected and uncorrected pages. The book was produced in the shop of William and Isaac Jaggard, and no single surviving copy represents every final reading.
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