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

Author - Doug Moston ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Routledge was reviewed on 29-Jul-2008.

Search ISBN:0878300880 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 Reference Book. Classifications : General Theater Performing Arts Arts & Photography Subjects Books Shakespeare British World Literature Literature & Fiction Subjects Books General Shakespeare, William ( S ) Authors, A-Z Literature & . Click the following link to view the cover of Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623.

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1) Paperback Book Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 by Routledge. You will not be able to read this facsimile without a magnifying glass: the printing is illegible in substantial parts. Of course it is good to skip the scholars´ conflated versions and read the folio, but this is impossible in this terribly bad reproduction.¤

2) Paperback Book Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 by Routledge. 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.¤

3) Paperback Book Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 by Routledge. 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.¤

4) Paperback Book Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 by Routledge. If you are involved in theatre in any way this is the Shakespeare book to have. Unknown to the common person, the Shakespeare paperback you go and buy at any store, even here, has been edited! This is Shakespeare´s complete works as a playwright in the closest form to Mr. Shakespeare´s own hand. It was compiled by 2 actors that worked with Shakespeare when he was alive so they knew what they were doing. Because there were no directors in Shakespeare´s time, Shakespeare had to direct through the text itself. By editing from this folio, history has erased valuable information Shakespeare wanted his actor´s to have. The introduction is amazing! Doug Moston is the only expert on Shakespeare when it comes to acting.¤

5) Paperback Book Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 by Routledge. 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.¤

6) Paperback Book Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies: A Facsimile of the First Folio, 1623 by Routledge. In 1623, The First Folio of Shakespeare´s plays was published. Written for the stage, not the page, it´s an actor´s text. Yet any edition available today has been edited; spelling changed, punctuation altered, lines divided differently, and even whole words replaced.

Now for the first time, a photographic facsimile 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 first published. 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. This volume is essential for all who love the Bard.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 26-Aug-2008, 08783008809780878300884, 800-8

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