Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 [Paperback]

Doug Moston (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0878300880 | ISBN-13: 978-0878300884 | Publication Date: April 20, 1998 | Edition: 1

For the first time, a photographic facsimile of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays is available in one affordable volume. Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies gives actors, directors, and anyone interested in Shakespeare access to the plays as Shakespeare envisioned them. In returning to the original text, actors and directors can find answers to the many problems they find preparing a play of Shakespeare. Included is the introduction to acting from the First Folio and its accompanying acting guide and glossary, making this the most valuable tool for all who love the Bard.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Doug Moston teaches acting at Yale University and New York University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (April 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878300880
• ISBN-13: 978-0878300884
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,040,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For now, this facsimile will just have to do., November 25, 2000

By 

Michael J. Connor (Waltham, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 (Paperback)

Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Edited by Doug Moston

At present this is the only facsimile edition of the Shakespeare folio available. With its relatively affordable price and availability the Routledge facsimile is an attractive edition of Shakespeare for readers, but there are short comings to this facsimile.

This is a reprint of a facsimile, and the one chosen, though interesting in many ways has a distinct disadvantage. The Routledge reprint is made from Halliwell-Phillips's facsimile published in 1887. The Halliwell-Phillips facsimile was a popular edition, not a scholarly one. It is by far the smallest of the facsimile editions of the first folio. The facsimile pages are less than half the size of the original pages. The distortion that previous reviewers have written about is very real. The distortion comes from the process used by Halliwell Phillips, which I believe was photo-lithography and then the reduction of the page size. Here in the Routledge edition those pages are then re-enlarged. This distortion could have been avoided if the full size Staunton facsimile of 1866 or Booth's very accurate print facsimile was the basis of this edition. You should keep this distortion in mind when you read this reprint.

There are unique variants preserved in this facsimile. Of the facsimiles this facsimile is the only one to show a variant from Richard III. There is a line from Richard III (V.3.13) which correctly ends "the adverse faction want." In this facsimile the line ends "the adverse faction went." I also found a variant that I could not find listed any where. On the last page of the Shakespeare folio there is a colophon: "Printed at the charges of W. Jaggard, Ed. Blout, I. Smithweeke, and W. Asply, 1623." This colophon does not appear in this facsimile.

With so many modernized editions of Shakespeare's plays available why would a anyone want to read a facsimile edition? I confess that I have a growing impatience with modern editors and editions of Shakespeare. All too often I am unconvinced by the conclusions modern editors have. All too often when I am suspicious of a line in a play, and when I check the line in a facsimile edition I see that the editor has changed it. I find that I do not have this irritation when I read a facsimile edition rather than a modernized one. If you are looking for an authoritative edition of Shakespeare's plays as they appeared in the first folio this facsimile fills the bill.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Affordable facsimile - fascinating stuff, April 22, 2000

By 

"lexo-2x" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 (Paperback)

Assuming that you can't afford a hundred quid for some more elaborately presented facsimilie of the First Folio, this is the one to get. There is some minimal evidence of touching up, but really it's like the arguments about the proper edition of "Ulysses" - fascinating to scholars but barely of interest to anybody else. The First Folio is the most important Shakespearean document, containing as it does the _only_ text of Macbeth, amongst many other marvels, and if (like me) you work in the theatre it's highly unlikely that you're going to want anything more beautifully put together than this. Highly unlikely, too, that you'll be able to afford anything more elaborate than this. Mr. Moston and his team are to be congratulated. Scholars may quibble but they're only scholars. Get this, and Stephen Greenblatt's Norton Shakespeare, and you'll have all the Will you'll ever need.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An affordable, readable resource for thespians, June 1, 1999

By 

Tal Carawan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 (Paperback)

It is refreshing to see the original folio, free of interferring editing. It takes some getting used to, but for it's price, it is a worthy addition to any classical actor, director, or scribe's collection. Highly reccommended for those who have another, standard collection, such as Riverside or Norton. Whenever there is a disagreement amongh various texts, it is usually answered by consulting this volume. It also gives one more "feel" for the time period in which the work was produced.