CMU School of Drama


Friday, April 21, 2023

First Folio turns 400: The book that gave us Shakespeare

limelightmagazine.com.au: It has been 400 years since the publication of the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, a volume now known as the First Folio. Prepared by his fellow actors after his death, the book presented 36 plays divided into the genres of comedy, history and tragedy.

1 comment:

B Hanser said...

It’s nearly impossible for me to imagine a world without Shakespeare. He is so integral to the history of our field. I wonder if theater would have evolved to the same place without him or if we would be dealing with a very different type of art and community. The tribute that Shakespeare’s cast members made to him by collecting all of his work is so beautiful. I feel that it is hard to be a historian, while also being an artist, because I am so focused on what is happening next, rather than what has already happened. However, I hope to change this about myself because this article reminded me the value of preserving something great that has happened in theater. And oh how I wish that they had video cameras because I would love to see so much of what our art form looked like before the 20th century. this article also makes me wonder if some of Shakespeare’s plays would have become significantly less popular if they were not credited to a popular writer. For example, Romeo and Juliet is one of the most well-known Shakespeare plays. However, if it was not credited to any author, would it still be as popular?