Welcome to the Folger
Enjoy great stories | Explore what makes you curious | Share the best in art, history, and literature with friends and family at the world’s largest Shakespeare collection.
Opening June 21: New exhibition galleries, café, and shop
What’s on
Join us for in-person and virtual events: theater, poetry, music, and more.
O.B. Hardison Series Finale Reading: Edward Hirsch
DC & Me: Community Stories from Anacostia
Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture
Folger Book Club: The East Indian
Metamorphoses
Stage Director Talk: Metamorphoses
Inside the Season: Metamorphoses
About us
How did the world’s largest Shakespeare collection end up one block from the US Capitol? Explore the Folger’s origin story.
The latest from our blogs and podcast
Dramaturg's Notes: Faedra Chatard Carpenter on Metamorphoses
Faedra Chatard Carpenter writes about the persistent power of myth in our lives and how this production makes a notable change to the play’s conventional staging.
Director's Notes: Psalmayene 24 on Metamorphoses
Psalmayene 24 reflects on his decision to cast an all-Black ensemble: “This production is a ritual meant to celebrate and elevate Black humanity while connecting us to all humanity.”
Judi Dench's take on Viola in Shakespeare's Twelth Night
What’s going through Viola’s head as she woos Olivia on Orsino’s behalf? Dame Judi Dench reflects on this key scene in this excerpt from her newly published book.
Dame Judi Dench and Brendan O'Hea on Seven Decades of Shakespeare
Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea talk about Dench’s experiences playing Ophelia, Gertrude, Lady Macbeth and Titania. Plus, parrots, Polonius, dirty words, hijinks with Sir Ian McKellen, and more.
Up Close: Gods and mortals in Ovid's Metamorphoses
How well do you know Greek and Roman myths? See if you can identify the mythological figures on the title page of this 1626 edition of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in April
We take a look at what’s onstage at Shakespeare theaters across the United States.
About the Folger's Search for a New Director
The Folger is seeking a seasoned and strategic director with energy and vision to lead the organization into its second century. Learn more about the search process.
Our collection
The First Folio
The Folger has the world’s largest collection of First Folios. Learn more about the book that gave us Shakespeare.
A majestic portrait
The Folger collection includes about 200 paintings. This portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by George Gower is dated 1579 making it the oldest painting in our collection. Two years after he completed this portrait, Gower became Serjeant Painter to the Queen, making him the most important artist in England.
Our other Elizabeth I holdings include hand-signed letters, books, and even New Year’s gift rolls detailing her holiday gifts. It is the largest collection of Elizabeth I materials in North America.
Shakespeare’s works
View the full list of plays and poems to read, search, and download our bestselling editions of Shakespeare’s works.
Shakespeare’s most popular plays
Explore
What was Shakespeare's theater like?
Learn about the Globe and other London playhouses where Shakespeare’s company performed. What was it like to be an actor there, or an audience member?
Teach
How can Shakespeare help 21st-century students be stronger readers?
Our Folger Method is revolutionizing how not just Shakespeare but all literature is taught using strategies that allow all students to own – and enjoy – complex texts.
Research
If we are what we eat, what can recipes from the past tell us?
Projects like Before ‘Farm to Table’ unite scholars and practitioners in investigations into the past to shed light on what matters to us today.
Support the things you love
Your gifts make access to our collection, learning opportunities, and exciting experiences happen.