Shakespeare's First Folio: The Book That Saved His Plays

When people think of William Shakespeare, they usually think of famous plays like Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, or Hamlet. But what many people don't realize is that some of these plays could have been lost forever if it wasn't for a book called the First Folio.

The First Folio was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare died. Two of his friends and fellow actors, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put it together because they believed Shakespeare's plays were too important to disappear. Their decision ended up preserving some of the greatest works in English literature.

The book contains 36 plays. Before the First Folio was published, some of Shakespeare's plays had never been printed at all. Others were only available in small books called quartos, which often contained mistakes or different versions of the plays.

One of the most amazing facts about the First Folio is that 18 of Shakespeare's plays only exist today because they were included in it. Plays like Macbeth, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and Julius Caesar might have been lost forever if Heminges and Condell hadn't published the collection.

Today, the First Folio is one of the rarest books in the world. Around 750 copies were originally printed, but only about 235 are known to survive. Most are kept in museums, libraries, and universities, and when one is sold, it can be worth millions of dollars.

While researching the First Folio, I had the opportunity to interview Professor Eric Rasmussen on the newest episode of my podcast, Curtains Up! A Historical Perspective on Drama. Professor Rasmussen is one of the world's leading Shakespeare scholars, and in 2014 he helped identify the 233rd known copy of the First Folio in the library of Saint-Omer, France.

Listening to him explain how he examined the book and pieced together the evidence was one of my favorite podcast interviews. It honestly felt like listening to a real-life Robert Langdon adventure, except instead of solving mysteries about ancient symbols, he was uncovering one of the rarest books in literary history. Hearing the story directly from someone who was actually there made me appreciate the First Folio even more.

What I find most interesting about the First Folio is that Shakespeare didn't create it himself. It was his friends who made sure his work would be remembered. Without them, Shakespeare might not be the writer we know today.

More than 400 years later, the First Folio is still incredibly important. Historians use it to study Shakespeare's original plays, actors still perform from it, and readers continue to learn from it. It's also a reminder that preserving history can be just as important as creating it.

The First Folio is much more than an old book. It saved some of the world's most famous plays and helped keep Shakespeare's legacy alive for future generations. Without it, English literature would look very different today.