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How many actual copies of the plays did Shakespeare write himself?
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
There was probably only one or two master copies of the play written by Shakespeare himself. There were no copyright laws in that time, and if full copies of the plays were given out, they were liable to be stolen by jealous playwrites from other theaters. Therefore, the actors were given only their parts, and cue words so they could know when their next part was coming up.
So Shakespeare probably only had full copies for himself.
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 7y agoNo. One play, The Two Noble Kinsmen, is specifically credited to Shakespeare working in collaboration with John Fletcher. This was normal and typical of playwrights at the time, who sometimes got together in groups of three or four to write plays. Scholars believe that several more of Shakespeare's plays were collaborations, especially the later plays Pericles (with George Wilkins) and Henry VIII (with John Fletcher). Some also have stated that Shakespeare wrote with George Peele in such plays as Titus Andronicus.
Wiki User
∙ 6y agoThis is a trickier question than you might think, because Shakespeare, like most of his contemporaries, collaborated with other playwrights from time to time. This collaboration might involve one or two playwrights looking over the plot and agreeing that one or the other should write certain scenes. It is clear that at the end of his career, Shakespeare collaborated with John Fletcher in such plays as Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen. It is likely that early in his career he collaborated with George Peele. Many commentators think Peele wrote part of Titus Andronicus, and possibly that Shakespeare may have collaborated on Peele's Edward I and the anonymous Edward III. Shakespeare was one of a number of playwrights who contributed to the never-completed play Sir Thomas More.
It gets more complicated when you consider that we know the titles of some Shakespeare plays but don't have copies of them, and some people have claimed that certain anonymous plays were really written by Shakespeare, including Edward III, the Second Maiden's Tragedy, Arden of Feversham etc.
So, let's start with the 36 plays in the First Folio. One (Henry VIII) is a collaboration with Fletcher; another (Titus) is possibly a collaboration with Peele, and a third (Macbeth) has been revised by Middleton. The rest are by Shakespeare alone in all probability.
Then there is Pericles, a collaboration with George Wilkins, and The Two Noble Kinsmen, another Fletcher collaboration. Shakespeare and Fletcher also wrote a play called Cardenio, but it is lost. There is reference to a play called Love's Labour's Won, probably a sequel to Love's Labour's Lost which has also disappeared. So, all told, Shakespeare wrote in whole or in part, forty plays that we can be reasonably sure of. He may have written more.
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What books by Shakespeare begin with o?
One of Shakespeare's plays (which could be published as a book, although Shakespeare himself never had it published, or ever intended that it should be) is called Othello.
Did William Shakespeare ever play a part in one of his own play scripts?
Yes. The first Folio lists a number of actors who played in Shakespeare's plays, and Shakespeare himself is at the top of the list.
What plays did Shakespeare play in when he was an actor?
The only plays we know for sure Shakespeare played in are Jonson's Every Man in His Humour and Sejanus. We don't know what parts Shakespeare played though. He also played in many of the plays he wrote himself, (it says so in the First Folio), but it doesn't say if there were any he didn't act in.
What is the name of the first edition of Shakespeare works and how many copies of it still exist?
It's called the First Folio, although its official name was "Mr William Shakespeares Comedies Histories & Tragedies published according to the true originall copies". It was not really a Complete Works as it contained just plays, not the poems or sonnets. It included 36 of the 38 plays generally believed to have been written by Shakespeare. About 1000 copies were printed; 238 remain, a remarkably high number.
How did King James I take to Shakespeare?
King James and everyone in his family were active patrons of the theatre. The King himself sponsored Shakespeare's company, and on at least a couple of occasions, had them play a large number of Shakespeare's plays at court.
How many plays had shakespeare wrote?
There were exactly 63 plays that shakespeare wrote by himself
Where can i find Shakespeare's plays with the original early modern English spelling and characters?
You can try websites which offer copies of the original quarto copies of the plays published in Shakespeare's day, or of the first folio, some of which are on the related links.
Why did Shakespeare invent plays?
Shakespeare didn't invent the idea of plays. It was the Greeks who did that. He did however write a number of them, for the purpose of making money for himself and his partners.
When did Shakespeare started to publish novels?
He didn't. Shakespeare never wrote a novel in his life. I'm serious. He wrote plays and poetry, and didn't even publish the plays himself.
Description of a Shakespeare conspiracy theory?
The gist of this conspriracy theory is that William Shakespeare did not pen all his plays himself. If or even how this can be proved is doubtful.
What books by Shakespeare begin with o?
One of Shakespeare's plays (which could be published as a book, although Shakespeare himself never had it published, or ever intended that it should be) is called Othello.
Did Shakespeare write all his plays by himself?
It could be that he took some writing help, but the thoughts were his.
Did William Shakespeare present his poems and plays in the globe so that more people would hear about it?
there is not really a answer to that question only Shakespeare himself could answer that for you.
What recognition did William Shakespeare get for his work?
You mean, I suppose, during his lifetime. Shakespeare was well-known for his writing during his lifetime. One of the best examples of this is in Francis Meres's book Palladis Tamia in 1597, in which he listed all of the best writers in England at that time, and mentioned Shakespeare as a playwright, and as a composer of sonnets and epic poems. One reason we know that Shakespeare made a name for himself was that although the earliest of his plays were published anonymously, after a while the publishers thought it would sell more copies if the plays were attributed to Shakespeare. Later, they started adding Shakespeare's name to stuff that he hadn't written, which shows that his name was a real selling point. Otherwise why try to sell fake Shakespeare plays and poems?
Did William Shakespeare ever play a part in one of his own play scripts?
Yes. The first Folio lists a number of actors who played in Shakespeare's plays, and Shakespeare himself is at the top of the list.
Which play did shakespeare write the most by himself?
Shakespeare wrote most of his plays entirely by himself, although he generally borrowed his plots from others. He wrote some of his later plays and perhaps also some of his early ones in collaboration with another playwright. But this cannot come to more than 5 or 6 of his 38 plays.
Was Shakespeare's work first published at his baptism?
No, Shakespeare's work was not first published at his baptism. Shakespeare's plays and poetry were published during his lifetime, with the first collection of his plays published in 1623, seven years after his death. However, it is unclear if Shakespeare himself oversaw the publication of his work, or if they were published by others after his death.
