Shakespeare as Literary Dramatist

Lukas Erne argues in this study that Shakespeare, apart from being a playwright who wrote theatrical texts for the stage, was also a literary dramatist who produced reading texts for publication. Contrary to a long-standing consensus, Shakespeare does not seem to have been opposed, or indifferent, to the publication of his plays, and he pursued a policy of trying to get them published. Accordingly, Shakespeare's long play texts survive in a literary format that would have required shortening before they reached the stage.