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Ansel shares how her questions as an artist fellow about Fuseli’s take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth inspired her to create two abstract, large-scale oil paintings but this time from a woman’s perspective that celebrates the play’s sisterhood.

Have you ever noticed a decorated paper on a volume in our collection and wondered how it was made?

Shakespeare’s plays are full of unforgettable women, but too often their voices are cut short. In She Speaks: What Shakespeare’s Women Might Have Said, acclaimed actor Harriet Walter imagines what they might tell us if given the chance, using original poems that deepen their stories and shed new light on Shakespeare’s plays.

The first track on Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, is “The Fate of Ophelia.” Refresh your memory about Hamlet’s ingenue and why we can’t stop writing, painting, and singing about her.

Al Letson’s play Julius X acts as a sort of Venn diagram that allows us to twice witness a familiar text (Julius Caesar), with a harsh and violent moment of American history that marked a significant contest waged by Black Americans for freedom and equality.

On October 9, 2025 the Folger’s virtual book club returns with a discussion of A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Shakespeare, horror, and Book Club’s spooky past.