One of the most incredible things about our Shakespeare studies has been discovering a major Sheakespearean library in our backyard!
Located in Washington, DC, is the Folger Shakespeare Library, which houses the largest collection of Shakespear’s works in the world.
FOLGERS SHAKESPEARE CLASSICS BOOK COLLECTION
Stumbling upon their copies of Shakespeare’s plays at the used bookstore, I was first attracted by the covers, which make them more appealing to read than many of the dowdy versions I found.
As I flipped through a copy, I was impressed by the layout of these books.
The introduction to each copy begins with an Editor’s Preface, then a history of the play itself, an explanation of the language of Shakespeare as it relates to that play, a history of Shakespeare’s life, a history of Shakespeare’s theater, a history of the publication of his plays, and finally an introduction to the play within the copy of the book.
The benefit of the aforementioned language section explains Shakespeare’s common word reversals omissions.
There is also information on word play, for which Shakespeare is famous: puns and metaphors.
Throughout this introductory section are illustrations from primary sources.
The next section is the play in a great format.
On the right side lies the text of the play, detailed with line numbers to help one reference a section.
On the left side are annotated notes for the page of text on the right.
The final section includes textual notes, a modern perspective of the play, books for further reading, and a key to famous lines and phrases within the play.
STARTING A COLLECTION
Last summer I prepared for this winter’s rhetoric studies of the Renaissance by collecting Folgers Shakespeare Classics for free with trade-in at the used bookstore.
Pursuing a collection of all of Shakespeare’s works, since they are so classic, I am trying to obtain three of each so the kids build their own libraries.
ANNOTATION
With their own copy, they will also be able to annotate in them.
My kids first began annotating last summer when we studied literary analysis with IEW’s Windows to the World: An Introduction to Literary Analysis.
Although my son usually prefers a pristine book, for which I don’t blame him, yesterday he indicated a cheerful change of heart about used books that sparkle. 😉
When we were studying Julius Caesar yesterday, we annotated key points together, such as key quotes and major literary devices in those passages, like repetition, irony, and metaphor.
As we discussed the meanings of one of the quotes, my son exclaimed that there were already notes written in his book.
Oops, thought I had purchased at least a clean copy.
Asking him to read them aloud, I then asked if he agreed with them.
They did line up with what we were annotating.
This was such a great lesson, since we sometimes procure used copies annotated by another.
In such case, we can analyze them to see how they add to the Great Discussion, and not that we must agree with it…because who agrees on everything?
Annotating is a great way to write memory joggers for future readings.
For our purposes, Shakespeare is so huge and complex, I was seeking an overview of Shakespeare to get the big picture, to unlock future doors of study and recreational reading…the goal of classical education.
Since this is a broad overview introductory study, I wanted my kids to return to these books at a future time to easily recognize familiar passages to beckon them to enjoy the play, and aid in comprehension.
Immediately, I knew the kids would recognize some of the quotes…to beckon them to enjoy the plays.
Practically, the annotated notes also serve for quick reference when deciding on an argumentative thesis when writing and supporting literary analysis papers, which we often do.
Using the quotation list at the book of the book, the kids and I underlined those quotes within the play.
That helped us to be aware of when to expect them in the movie or play version.
Then we turned to a bit of specifics from the play’s introductory notes.
For the first play we studied, Julius Caesar, our introductory notes explained that this play was originally published in the First Folio, with early 17th century spelling.
The book details how their text has modernized some of the spelling.
FOLIO, QUARTO, OCTAVO
Since the Folger Shakespeare Library contains a huge collection of 17th century copies of Shakespeare’s work, they talk about them all the time.
Enter the world of the printing press, which creates folios, quartos, and octavos.
In 1440 the Gutenberg Press was invented, revolutionizing the world.
Usage of the helpful machine hadn’t changed over the centuries, so a visit to Colonial Williamsburg’s printmaker is a step back in time to the 18th century…and beyond to the 15th century, which includes Shakespeare’s era.
Folios, quartos, and octavos come from the world of the printmaker.
While printing on a large sheet of paper, printers can produce different sized pages with one single press of the machine.
After arranging the typeset…
and preparing the ink for the press…
the printer shows the result of printing two pages of text on one sheet of paper…
the freshly inked paper is hung to dry.
After it’s dried, the paper is folded in half to create a pamphlet, like the Virginia Gazette, or set aside for the book binder to create a leather-bound book, like the famed Gutenberg Bible.
After printing four pages of text on one sheet of paper, the ink is allowed to dry, after which the paper is folded into fourths to create a smaller pamphlet than a folio.
After printing eight pages of text on one sheet of paper, the ink is allowed to dry, after which the paper is folded into eighths to create an octavo, a smaller pamphlet than a quarto.
I’ve even seen printing of twelve pages of text on one sheet of paper, though I don’t know the name of that.
PAMPHLETS V LEATHER-BOUND BOOKS
Leather bound books were only affordable to the wealthy. Life in the 18th century wasn’t a whole lot different from the 16th.
So instead of leather-bound books, the middling sort could purchase the same text in the form of pamphlets.
The smaller the pamphlet, the cheaper the expense.
FOLIOS, QUARTOS, AND OCTAVOS OF SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS
Nineteen of Shakespeare’s plays were printed in quarto format in his lifetime, which were individual copies of single plays.
Seven years after Shakespeare died, thirty-six of his thirty-eight plays were published in a single volume.
This was such a prodigious event, since previous folios were mostly limited to Bibles and sermons, that Shakespeare’s collections of plays printed folio form have been dubbed…the First Folio.
PROMPT BOOK
Finally, there is the prompt book, which was used by the director to stage all the movements, settings, and props.
Some of the prompt books in the Folger collection were annotated by the famous 18th century playwright, David Garrick.
CLASSICAL STUDIES WITH SHAKESPEARE THROUGH THE AGES
For grammar level we enjoyed using the Wishbone books, for dialectic level we liked the Charles and Mary Lamb books, and now we are enjoying the Folger Classics for rhetoric.
For more photos, check my Flickr set.
