Nineteen of William Shakespeare's plays first appeared in quarto before the publication of the First Folio in 1623, eighteen of those before his death in 1616. One play co-authored with John Fletcher, The Two Noble Kinsmen, was first published in 1634, and one play first published in the First Folio, The Taming of the Shrew, was later published in quarto. Following are listed the Shakespeare plays that appeared in quarto up to 1642 with complete title page information from each edition.
Plays first published before 1623
Henry VI, Part 2
Q1 1594
The play known as King Henry VI, Part 2 was entered into the Stationers Register 12 March 1594 and printed that same year by Thomas Creede for Thomas Millington.. As it appears in the First Folio, the play is about a third longer than the first quarto version.. Most scholars agree that the 1594 version as printed is a memorial reconstruction, or bad quarto, but they are divided as to whether it is based on the full folio version or an abridged and possibly revised version of the play.. STC 26099; 64 pages.
Q2 1600
Q3 1619 (not dated, printed with Henry VI, Part 3 as part of Thomas Pavier's False Folio)
Titus Andronicus
Q1 1594
The only extant copy of this quarto belongs to the collection of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.
Q2 1600
Q3 1611
Richard III
Q1 1597
Q2 1598
Q3 1602
Q4 1605
Q5 1612
Q6 1622
Q7 1629
Q8 1634
Henry VI, Part 3
Octavo 1 1595
Q2 1600
Q3 1619 (not dated, printed with Henry VI, Part 2 as part of Thomas Pavier's False Folio)
Romeo and Juliet
Q1 1597
Q2 1599
Q3 1609
Q4 a 1622 (not dated)
Q4 b 1622 (not dated)
Q5 1637
Richard II
Q1 1597
Q2 1598
Q3 1598
Q4 a 1608
Q4 b 1608
Q5 1615
Q6 1634
Henry IV, Part 1
Quarto 0 1598
This version thought to be earlier than Q1 is known only from a single fragment in the Folger Shakespeare Library, comprising four leaves of quire C that was found in a book binding. The running headline uses the word "hystorie" instead of "historie" and line spoken by Poins in 2.2, "How the rogue roared" is given as "How the fat rogue roared".
Q1 1598
Q2 1599
Q3 1604
Q4 1608
Q5 1613
Q6 1622
Q7 1632
Q8 1639
Love's Labour's Lost
Q 1598
Henry IV, Part 2
Quarto a (84 pages) omits the first scene of act iii and eight other passages in quire E. Quarto b (88 pages) adds the missing first scene of act iii and resets the immediately surrounding text, adding two leaves to quire E. The title pages are identical.
Q 1600
Henry V
Q1, 1600
Q2, 1602
Q3, 1619 (falsely dated 1608 as part of Thomas Pavier's False Folio)
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Q1 1600
Q2 1619 (falsely dated 1600 as part of Thomas Pavier's False Folio)
Merchant of Venice
Q1 1600
Q2 1619 (falsely dated 1600 as part of Thomas Pavier's False Folio)
Q3 1637
Much Ado About Nothing
Q 1600
Merry Wives of Windsor
Q1 1602
Q2 1619 (publisher falsely stated as Arthur Johnson as part of Thomas Pavier's False Folio)
Q3 1630
Hamlet
Q1 1603
Q2 a 1604
Q2 b 1605
Q3 1611
Q4 1622 (no date)
Q5 1637
King Lear
Q1 1608
Q2 1619 (falsely dated 1608 as part of Thomas Pavier's False Folio)
Troilus and Cressida
Q a 1609
Q b 1609
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Q1 1609
Q2 1609
Q3 1611
Q4a 1619 (first state as part of Thomas Pavier's False Folio)
Q4b 1619 (corrected state falsely dated 1609 as part of Thomas Pavier's False Folio)
Q5 1630
Q6 1635
Othello
Q1 1622
Q2 1630
Plays first published after 1623
The Taming of the Shrew
Q 1631
Two Noble Kinsmen
Q 1634
Footnotes
References
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