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.

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