page_title: First Folio
section_title: Contents
hierarchical_section_title: First Folio / Contents
context_page_description: Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, published in 1623, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio. It is considered one of the most influential books ever published.
  Printed in folio format and containing 36 plays, it was prepared by Shakespeare's colleagues John Heminges and Henry Condell. It was dedicated to the "incomparable pair of brethren" William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and his brother Philip Herbert, Earl of Montgomery.
  Although 18 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 Folio includes all of the plays generally accepted to be Shakespeare's, with the exception of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, The Two Noble Kinsmen, and the two lost plays, Cardenio and Love's Labour's Won.
context_section_description: The 36 plays of the First Folio occur in the order given below; plays that had never been published before 1623 are marked with an asterisk. Each play is followed by the type of source used, as determined by bibliographical research.
  The term foul papers refers to Shakespeare's working drafts of a play. When completed, a transcript or fair copy of the foul papers would be prepared, by the author or by a scribe. Such a manuscript would have to be heavily annotated with accurate and detailed stage directions and all the other data needed for performance, and then could serve as a prompt book, to be used by the prompter to guide a performance of the play. Any of these manuscripts, in any combination, could be used as a source for a printed text. The label Qn denotes the nth quarto edition of a play.
  Comedies
  1 The Tempest * – the play was set into type from a manuscript prepared by Ralph Crane, a professional scrivener employed by the King's Men. Crane produced a high-quality result, with formal act/scene divisions, frequent use of parentheses and hyphenated forms, and other identifiable features.
  2 The Two Gentlemen of Verona * – another transcript by Ralph Crane.
  3 The Merry Wives of Windsor – another transcript by Ralph Crane.
  4 Measure for Measure * – probably another Ralph Crane transcript.
  5 The Comedy of Errors * – probably typeset from Shakespeare's "foul papers," lightly annotated.
  6 Much Ado About Nothing – typeset from a copy of the quarto, lightly annotated.
  7 Love's Labour's Lost – typeset from a corrected copy of Q1.
  8 A Midsummer Night's Dream – typeset from a copy of Q2, well-annotated, possibly used as a prompt-book.
  9 The Merchant of Venice – typeset from a lightly edited and corrected copy of Q1.
  10 As You Like It * – from a quality manuscript, lightly annotated by a prompter.
  11 The Taming of the Shrew * – typeset from Shakespeare's "foul papers," somewhat annotated, perhaps as preparation for use as a prompt-book.
  12 All's Well That Ends Well * – probably from Shakespeare's "foul papers" or a manuscript of them.
  13 Twelfth Night * – typeset either from a prompt-book or a transcript of one.
  14 The Winter's Tale * – another transcript by Ralph Crane.
  Histories
  15 King John * – uncertain: a prompt-book, or "foul papers."
  16 Richard II – typeset from Q3 and Q5, corrected against a prompt-book.
  17 Henry IV, Part 1 – typeset from an edited copy of Q5.
  18 Henry IV, Part 2 – uncertain: some combination of manuscript and quarto text.
  19 Henry V – typeset from Shakespeare's "foul papers."
  20 Henry VI, Part 1 * – likely from an annotated transcript of the author's manuscript.
  21 Henry VI, Part 2 – probably a Shakespearean manuscript used as a prompt-book.
  22 Henry VI, Part 3 – like 2H6, probably a Shakespearean prompt-book.
  23 Richard III – a difficult case: probably typeset partially from Q3, and partially from Q6 corrected against a manuscript (maybe "foul papers").
  24 Henry VIII * – typeset from a fair copy of the authors' manuscript.
  Tragedies
  25 Troilus and Cressida – probably typeset from the quarto, corrected with Shakespeare's "foul papers," printed after the rest of the Folio was completed.
  26 Coriolanus * – set from a high-quality authorial transcript.
  27 Titus Andronicus – typeset from a copy of Q3 that might have served as a prompt-book.
  28 Romeo and Juliet – in essence a reprint of Q3.
  29 Timon of Athens * – set from Shakespeare's foul papers or a transcript of them.
  30 Julius Caesar * – set from a prompt-book, or a transcript of a prompt-book.
  31 Macbeth * – probably set from a prompt-book, perhaps detailing an adaptation of the play for a short indoor performance
  32 Hamlet – one of the most difficult problems in the First Folio: probably typeset from some combination of Q2 and manuscript sources.
  33 King Lear – a difficult problem: probably set mainly from Q1 but with reference to Q2, and corrected against a prompt-book.
  34 Othello – another difficult problem: probably typeset from Q1, corrected with a quality manuscript.
  35 Antony and Cleopatra * – possibly "foul papers" or a transcript of them.
  36
caption: Table of Contents from the First Folio
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