I am familiar with the Folger Library General Reader’s Shakespeare, published in the 1960s. Why has the Folger chosen to re-edit Shakespeare’s plays and poems now?
In recent years, ways of dealing with Shakespeare’s texts and with the interpretation of his plays have been undergoing significant change. The New Folger editions, while retaining many of the features that have always made the Folger Shakespeare so attractive to the general reader, at the same time reflects these current ways of thinking about Shakespeare.
How have the editors edited the text with the needs of a modern audience in mind?
Modern readers, actors, and teachers have become interested in the differences between, on the one hand, the early forms in which Shakespeare’s plays were first published and, on the other hand, the forms in which editors through the centuries have presented them. In response to this interest, we have based our editions on what we consider the best early printed version of a particular play (explaining our rationale in a section called "An Introduction to This Text”) and have marked our changes in the text—unobtrusively, we hope, but in such a way that the curious reader can be aware that a change has been made and can consult the "Textual Notes" to discover what appeared in the early printed versions.
What additional features will readers find in the Folger editions?
As in the Folger Library General Reader’s Shakespeare, we include explanatory notes designed to help make Shakespeare's language clearer to a modern reader, and we place the notes on the page facing the text that they explain.
We provide fresh accounts of the life of Shakespeare, of the publishing of his plays, and of the theaters in which his plays were performed. We also include a section called "Reading Shakespeare’s Language," in which we try to help readers learn to “break the code” of Elizabethan poetic language.
Current ways of looking at the plays are reflected in our brief prefaces, in many of the commentary notes, in the annotated lists of "Further Reading," and especially in each play’s "Modern Perspective," an essay written by an outstanding scholar who brings to the reader his or her fresh assessment of the play in the light of today’s interests and concerns.
Where do the editors find the illustrations for the Folger editions?
We follow the earlier Folger editions in including illustrations—of objects, of clothing, of mythological figures—from the vast holdings of rare books and manuscripts in the Folger Library collection.
Has the Folger published editions of all Shakespeare's plays and poems?
We currently have 36 editions in print and plan to publish all of Shakespeare’s works. We publish two new editions each year: one released in the summer, one in the winter.
Where can I find a complete list of Folger editions and ISBNs?
Click here for a complete list of titles and ISBNs.
How can teachers request examination copies and desk copies?
Desk copies and examination copies are available through Simon and Schuster. To request a copy of a New Folger Library edition, e-mail your request to folger.marketing@simonandschuster.com or fax your request on letterhead to (212) 632-4973.
What other teacher resources are available from the Folger?
You can request curriculum guides by contacting Simon and Schuster. Simon and Schuster also publishes the Folger's Shakespeare Set Free, edited by Peggy O’Brien, former Director of the Teaching Shakespeare Institute at the Folger. Three volumes are available:
Volume I: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Volume II: Hamlet and Henry IV, Part 1
Volume III: Twelfth Night and Othello.
Lesson plans, a teachers' forum, and many more resources can be found at the Teaching Shakespeare page. Here you will discover more information on the Folger's programs for teachers, students, and families.
If I have a question not answered here, how may I contact you?
E-mail your questions to us at editions@folger.edu.
