First Folio - Contents

Contents

The thirty-six 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.

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."
• 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.
• 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 Cymbeline * – possibly another Ralph Crane transcript, or else the official prompt-book.

Troilus and Cressida was originally intended to follow Romeo and Juliet, but the typesetting was stopped, probably due to a conflict over the rights to the play; it was later inserted as the first of the Tragedies, when the rights question was resolved. It does not appear in the table of contents.