Written versions of Shakespeare's plays appeared in a variety of forms.
It is certain that he did not seek to have his plays published as books. (He did actively pursue the publication of his longer poems and his sonnets).
Quartos were small and cheaply made: they usually featured only one play. These may have been written from memory by someone close to the players. In some cases there is evidence that sections were omitted or have otherwise been poorly transcribed -- resulting in bad quartos.
Many of his plays were published in quarto form in his lifetime, but there is no evidence that he approved of or benefited from their sale and distribution.
Folio editions were very expensive to make and they were usually created for deceased famous authors. They were masterpieces of the bookmaker's art and contained many of the plays attributed to the playwright. The first folio of Shakespeare's was published seven years after his death.
Visit The Rare Book Room to see some of the oldest and rarest versions of Shakespeare's plays.
Open the file below and save it to your document file. You can use it as a template for all your essays at Dana Hall.
Download Mlamastertemplatebest
In this clipping, we'll see how a student adds relevant and precise evidence to support her claim by embedding quotations. Note that she is working with "short" quotations here - ones that are under 40 words or four lines of poetry.
The details of MLA style can be overwhelming. Let's put the handbook aside for a while and critique some snippets of student essays written right here at Dana Hall. Below you'll find passages from actual student essays. I have removed the authors' names, left in some less-than-perfect sentences, and even added some awesomely huge errors (just to see if you are paying attention).
For example, double-click the essay image below. When it opens to full scale, you'll be able to see the opening paragraph of a student essay about Julius Caesar. Much of it is correct, some of it could be improved, and a bit or two might be just plain wrong.
Wait! What about a cover or title page? Easy! The MLA dispenses with these and simply begins.
