Printing and Publishing

It was rare for plays to be published during the Elizabethan period, through which Shakespeare lived. They were not intended to be read, but performed and the printing of plays would usually be limited to copies printed by a theatre for use by the actors. Sometimes popular plays would be copied by publishers and sold to the public for them to be read, but this would usually have been without the agreement of its author. Writers were usually opposed to such unauthorised printing and publishing of the plays that they had written.

Click here or on the image opposite to read the complete text of the play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

Shakespeare might have supervised the publishing of some of his poems during his lifetime. Some of his plays were also printed and published while he was alive, but he was probably not involved in their publication. Copied from the works used by theatre companies or constructed from the memories of those who had seen plays performed, such plagiarized publications were often criticized for their inaccuracies, which reflected badly on the originals. However, as the printing and publishing of official copies of the works of writers such as Ben Jonson led to them being more widely distributed, the reading of plays become increasingly accepted. Subsequently, Heminge and Condell, who had been friends of Shakespeare and acted in his theatre company, prepared and published a book of thirty six of his plays in 1623, seeking to accurately preserve the works of Shakespeare and ensuring its continued popularity with future generations.