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Editing Shakespeare's plays became a particularly fashionable activity in the 18th century, and Samuel Johnson is perhaps the most famous Shakespearean editor of that period. Originally proposed in 1745, Johnson's edition of Shakespeare's Plays was abandoned, and only resurfaced after the completion of his monumental Dictionary. Unlike many previous editors, Johnson was generous in his acknowledgements of collaborators and previous scholarship. In contrast to Pope, he not only expressed approval or disapproval in his notes but also went into detail about his reasons. However, the textual editing of his first edition was considered disappointing. George Stevens, who had a tremendous knowledge of early dramatic literature, successfully recitified this and produced with Johnson a new 10-volume edition in 1773. This edition was greatly praised and both editors made further revisions and improvements for the 1778 edition reprinted here.

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