Books Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories & tragedies : published according to the true originall copies in What

1. The Historical Context

Before price shownakespeare’s plays were sold in "Quartos"—small, cheap, and often inaccurate pamphlets. After Shakespeare died in 1616, his fellow actors realized that his life's work was at risk of disappearing. The First Folio was their attempt to create a "definitive" edition. It was a massive financial risk, costing about price shown at the time (roughly the price of 40-50 loaves of bread).

2. The Structural Layout

The editors organized the plays into three categories, which defined how we study Shakespeare today. Out of the 36 plays included, 18 had never been printed before.

The Comedies (14 Plays): Themes of love, mistaken identity, and happy endings.

Key "Saved" Play: The Tempest (This is the very first play in the Folio).

The Histories (10 Plays): Dramatizations of English kings and political turmoil.

Key "Saved" Play: Henry VIII.

The Tragedies (12 Plays): Explorations of human suffering, fate, and death.

Key "Saved" Plays: Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra.

3. Key "Firsts" in the Folio

The Droeshout Portrait: This is the iconic image of Shakespeare we recognize today. It was verified by those who actually knew him.

Act and Scene Divisions: Many of the plays were divided into Acts and Scenes for the first time in this volume, making them easier to read as literature rather than just scripts for performance.

The Dedication: Ben Jonson’s introductory poem "To the Memory of My Beloved the Author" cemented Shakespeare’s legacy as a "monument" of English culture.

4. Legacy and Value

Today, the First Folio is one of the most valuable books in the world. Only about 235 copies are known to survive. In 2020, a copy sold at auction for nearly price shown million. Its true value, however, is in the preservation of the English language; hundreds of phrases we use today (like "brave new world" or "it's Greek to me") survived only because of this book.

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