Can you spot the difference (other than differences in spelling) between this part of Midsummer Night’s Dream as printed in the 1600 Quarto and the 1623 First Folio?
Comment with your best guesses and we’ll be back with an explanation next week!
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In the quarto the names of the fairies are part of the speech, inviting them to enter (see question mark at the end of the line)
In the Folio the names of the fairies have become part of the stage direction, and an extra four unnamed fairies have been added.
Philip Allfrey — February 17, 2026
Change from colon to comma after first line; change from colon to semi-colin after sixth line; omission of multiple commas from 1600 Quarto; a question mark after Mustard-seede in the Quarto
Lauren Freeman — February 18, 2026
Significantly more punctuation in the Quarto. The lines are broken up with semi-colons and commas where the Folio lines seem to flow together more. I’m fascinated by the punctuation differences between quartos and FF, particularly as they inform actors in their text work.
John Aney — February 21, 2026