Folio: A book-making format in which each large sheet of paper is folded once, making two leaves (four pages front and back). This format produced large volumes, generally handsome and expensive. The First Folio of Shakespeare's Plays was produced in 1623. For the purposes of this assignment, it is important to keep in mind that Shakespeare did not himself edit or assemble the First Folio. It was produced by two of his fellow actors, John Heminge and Henry Condell, seven years after his death. To view a facsimile of the opening page of the First Folio Lear, please click here.

We thank the Norton Shakespeare for giving us the permission to reproduce terms from the glossary at the end of the Norton Shakespeare, ed. Stephen Greenblatt (New York: W.W. Norton, 1997).