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Language Arts
Shakespeare in Quarto
By British Library
Mar 21, 2006, 11:31 PST



Shakespeare in Quarto

Courtesy of the British Library
Shakespeare in Quarto presents 21 of Shakespeare's plays that were printed in Quarto form, and explores how they changed through the years through the use of 93 versions of his plays. In the "Texts" section you can compare the text of the various editions available in their collection.

What is a quarto?
A quarto is a book formed by folding a sheet of paper (usually 18" x 24") in half and then in half again to form four "leaves" or eight pages (each sized between 8"x 10" to 9" x 12"). This is have the size of a folio, and a common format in which the Shakespearean plays were printed.

The "Afterlife" section lets you explore the Shakespearean texts by time period, which allows you to see how the language was handled during a particular era. The language, and in some cases the meanings, of particular passages have changed with the times.

Have fun exploring Shakespeare through this excellent site that is part of the Treasures In Full collection of the British Library.

Source: The British Library





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