First Folio

The First Folio

The First Folio is a very special book. It holds 36 plays written by William Shakespeare. It was printed in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare passed away. Two of his friends, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put the book together. They wanted to share Shakespeare’s wonderful stories with everyone.

Before the First Folio, only 19 of Shakespeare’s plays had been printed. This book gave us reliable versions of many plays. Some famous plays, like The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and Macbeth, were first printed in this book.

Only about 750 copies of the First Folio were made. Today, around 235 copies still exist. Many of these copies are kept safe at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.. People all around the world read and study the First Folio because it helps us enjoy Shakespeare’s stories today.

The First Folio has three groups of plays: comedies, histories, and tragedies. Some of the plays include:

Comedies

• The Tempest
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona
• The Merry Wives of Windsor
• Measure for Measure
• The Comedy of Errors
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Love's Labour's Lost
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• The Merchant of Venice
• As You Like It
• The Taming of the Shrew
• All's Well That Ends Well
• Twelfth Night
• The Winter's Tale

Histories

• King John
• Richard II
• Henry IV, Part 1
• Henry IV, Part 2
• Henry V
• Henry VI, Part 1
• Henry VI, Part 2
• Henry VI, Part 3
• Richard III
• Henry VIII

Tragedies

• Troilus and Cressida
• Coriolanus
• Titus Andronicus
• Romeo and Juliet
• Timon of Athens
• Julius Caesar
• Macbeth
• Hamlet
• King Lear
• Othello
• Antony and Cleopatra
• Cymbeline