Ornaments

Ornaments often appear at the beginning and end of plays in the First Folio. Below are examples of decorations found at the beginning of The Tempest and end of Twelfth Night respectively.

First Folio (1623) - The Tempest

 

First Folio (1623) - Twelfth Night

 

The first words of plays are also normally decorated:

First Folio (1623) - Hamlet

First Folio (1623) - The Tempest

However, not all the initial letters of the plays are decorated. The first letter of Julius Caesar, for example, is much plainer than the letters above:

First Folio (1623) - Julius Caesar

 

First Folio (1623) - Preliminary Material Ornament (Signature πA5r)

 

The letters in the Preliminary Material of the Folio are also often highly decorative:

Preliminary Material Decorative Letter (Signature πA2r)

Preliminary Material Decorative Letter (Signature πA3r)

 

Preliminary Material Decorative Letter (Signature πA4r)

Preliminary Material Decorative Letter (Signature πA5r)

 

First Folio (1623) - Preliminary Material Ornament (Signature πA2r)

See also: Signatures

 

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