Shakespearean text lives online

The British Library is putting online 93 high-resolution digitised copies of 21 of Shakespeare's plays.

The texts date from Shakespeare's lifetime and are pamphlet editions of plays prepared to be sold after performances had finished.

"The quartos were cheaply produced and would have been available for as little as sixpence," said Moira Goff, head of British Collections 1501-1800 at the British Library.

"Given that Shakespeare left no manuscripts behind, the quartos are as close as we are able to get to what he actually wrote," said Ms Goff.

The 21 plays featured on the website include many of Shakespeare's best known works including King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Love's Labours Lost, Romeo and Juliet and Othello.