The Plays of William Shakespeare

What it is

This is an edition of William Shakespeare's plays, edited with notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens, first published in 1765. The edition shown here is a later printing from 1783, printed in London in ten volumes with notes and an appendix.

Why it matters

Johnson had read and loved Shakespeare since childhood. He believed existing printed texts of the plays were full of errors introduced by copyists, actors and careless printers, so he set out to compare versions and explain difficult passages for ordinary readers. His Preface argued that readers, not audiences in a theatre, were the true judges of the plays. This edition influenced how later editors tried to establish authoritative texts of Shakespeare's works.

Look closer

• Why might an editor's notes change how later generations understand an old text?
• What does Johnson's belief that readers are the