Did William Shakespeare publish his sonnets?

Answer 1

Some people say that he did, some people say not. But the pure evidence is unknown, like Shakespeare's life himself, he was very private so we don't have alot of evidence to say.

It's unlikely that Shakespeare himself had any of his own plays published for the simple fact that it was expensive and there would have been no reason to. People didn't publish things back then unless there was a strong market for something, particularly playwrights - publishing a play meant that it could be performed without you. Plays generally weren't extensively read or printed back then, they existed mostly as performance. It was only people who had a real passion for theatre that would buy a printed play in quarto or octavo form. Shakespeare's first folio was only the second time an English playwright had his plays published in folio (the most expensive way to print) ever - and that was after he was dead. Publishing was a VERY expensive and time consuming process. Some of the earlier quartos (the "bad" quartos) that were printed are, in many opinions, constructed from the memories of actors who performed in Shakespeare's plays. They were printed so that the plays could be taken out with acting troupes who were forced to ply their trade abroad when the theatres closed due to plague.

Most of Shakespeare's plays were published for the first time in 1623 when William Jaggard and Edward Blount managed to get the rights (there were copyrights of sorts back then, though they mostly applied to the ownership of the manuscripts at that point) and the help of those who knew and worked with Shakespeare. They were only published after it was clear that Shakespeare would remain a legend after his death.

Answer 2

Shakespeare's plays were published under his name, but not by him. The author did not control the right to publish playscripts--the theatrical company did. There were also some pirated copies. Shakespeare was generally credited with writing the plays though.

Answer 3

Since we are not exactly sure what Shakespeare's first work was, this is hard to answer. But if you asked, "Who was the first to publish Shakespeare's work?" we could answer easily. It was Richard Field, one of Shakespeare's school chums from Stratford, who had lucked into a printing business in London. He agreed to publish Venus and Adonis in 1593.

Answer 4

Yes, in 1609.