Last year the National Library of Israel received a magnificent bequest of rare books from the early modern period. Three of them are original editions of Shakespeare’s works, from the seventeenth century. Two more were printed in the eighteenth century, and relate to Samuel Johnson’s seminal Dictionary of the English Language, which was finally published in 1755.

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In this presentation Dr Micha Lazarus and Dr Stefan Litt talk about the story these five books tell. It is a story about how Shakespeare, and what Shakespeare meant, were transformed in the century and a half following his death through the medium of print. When he died in 1616 Shakespeare was a wealthy and respected playwright. By the publication of Johnson’s dictionary in 1755, he was England’s native genius, the foundation not only of its literature but of the English language itself. These books at the National Library of Israel tell the story of how Shakespeare became Shakespeare!

Last year the National Library of Israel received a magnificent bequest of rare books from the early modern period. Three of them are original editions of Shakespeare’s works, from the seventeenth century. Two more were printed in the eighteenth century, and relate to Samuel Johnson’s seminal Dictionary of the English Language, which was finally published in 1755.

‍

In this presentation Dr Micha Lazarus and Dr Stefan Litt talk about the story these five books tell. It is a story about how Shakespeare, and what Shakespeare meant, were transformed in the century and a half following his death through the medium of print. When he died in 1616 Shakespeare was a wealthy and respected playwright. By the publication of Johnson’s dictionary in 1755, he was England’s native genius, the foundation not only of its literature but of the English language itself. These books at the National Library of Israel tell the story of how Shakespeare became Shakespeare!

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