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.
The Folger is open! New exhibition galleries, gardens, and shop
What’s on
Join us for in-person and virtual events: theater, poetry, music, and more.
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
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Folger Book Club: Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
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Youth Poetry Workshop
![SfS Banner Mixology Presents: Shakespeare for Swifties](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2024/07/SfS-Banner.jpg?resize=16%2C10&gravity)
Mixology (TV) Presents: Shakespeare for Swifties
![Havana Hop listing](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2024/06/Havana-Hop-listing.jpg?resize=16%2C10&gravity)
Dance Theatre Workshop
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Arab Music and Poetry Night
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Into the Vault: Books of the 1620s
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
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Folger Book Club: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
![Anacostia Masthead (1)](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2024/04/Anacostia-Masthead-1.jpg?resize=16%2C10&gravity)
DC & Me: Community Stories from Anacostia
![Listing DC & Me Mt Pleasant](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2024/04/Listing-DC-Me-Mt-Pleasant.png?resize=16%2C10&gravity)
DC & Me: Community Stories from Mt. Pleasant
News and announcements
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Folger Shakespeare Library Names Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper as Director
Press release: May 20, 2024
About us
How did the world’s largest Shakespeare collection end up one block from the US Capitol? Explore the Folger’s origin story.
![Night view of the Folger Shakespeare Library with the U.S. Capitol building in the background](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2022/12/folger-capitol-night-view-background.jpg?resize=20%2C10&gravity)
The latest from our blogs and podcast
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"Merry sport": The Olympic Games are afoot!
Inspired by the Olympics, Austin Tichenor explores how Shakespeare uses sports in his plays, including as a way to show tensions between England and France.
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A Q&A with Dr. Peggy O'Brien
Dr. Peggy O’Brien looks back on her career at the Folger
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Shax it Off: Taylor Swift-themed cocktails inspired by recipes in our collection
Three Taylor Swift-themed cocktails inspired by seventeenth- and eighteenth-century recipes from our collection.
![SwiftGuitarShaxDream list3 Two images side by side to form a single banner image: at left, Taylor Swift on stage playing a guitar, and at right, a period illustration from about the 19th century of Shakespeare lying down outdoors beside a tree, with his head lifted on one arm as he gazes thoughtfully at the ground](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2025/10/SwiftGuitarShaxDream-list3.jpeg?resize=16%2C10&gravity)
Taylor Swift and Shakespeare
“Lend me your ears”: Harvard English professor Stephanie Burt explores the songs and songwriting of Shakespeare and Taylor Swift.
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'Birnam Wood' Resource Guide
To prepare for our August 1 virtual book club discussion of Eleanor Catton’s novel, explore resources related to Shakespeare and the environment.
![337294main-pg62-as11-40-5903-full list Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, photographed by Neil Armstrong.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2025/10/337294main-pg62-as11-40-5903-full-list.jpeg?resize=16%2C10&gravity)
Apollo 11 and other scientific wonders
Mark the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission with a look at a fascinating Apollo 11 flight plan sheet that traveled to the Moon.
Our collection
![Title page with engraved portrait of Shakespeare in the middle. Text printed above it reads](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2022/08/003281.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024)
The First Folio
The Folger has the world’s largest collection of First Folios. Learn more about the book that gave us Shakespeare.
![Sieve portrait A three-quarters length portrait of a woman with dark red hair and pale face and hands. She is wearing an ornate red and gold gown with a high ruff and she is holding a golden sieve in her right hand.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2022/08/003219.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024)
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.
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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
![The Globe The Globe](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2022/09/045738-cropped.jpg?resize=16%2C10&gravity)
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
![Randle Highlands Folger 137 Student reading a Folger Shakespeare in class.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2022/10/Randle-Highlands-Folger-137-scaled.jpg?resize=16%2C10&gravity)
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
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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.
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Support the things you love
Your gifts make access to our collection, learning opportunities, and exciting experiences happen.