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.
Plan your visit
Get details and reserve timed-entry passes.
Explore our exhibitions
See what’s on view in our galleries.
Take a tour
Reserve a group tour or student experience.
Check out our shop
Gifts, games, merch, and more!
Eat at Quill & Crumb
Enjoy lunch or a quick snack at our café.
What’s on
Join us for talks, poetry, music, and other programs.
Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era
On View: Dominick Porras
“We Were Here” Film Screening and Discussion with filmmaker Fred Kuwornu
Out of the Vault
Our Shakespeare Exhibition
Folger Book Club: 'Well Met' by Jen DeLuca
Afternoon Tea at the Folger
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
'Well Met' Resource Guide
On February 5, 2026 the Folger’s virtual book club returns with a discussion of Well Met by Jen DeLuca. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Shakespeare and romance.
About 'Well Met'
Introductory information on the February 2026 Folger Book Club selection, Well Met by Jen DeLuca.
Our most frequently asked Shakespeare questions
Reference Associate Erika Giddens, who manages the Folger’s Ask a Librarian service, takes us behind the scenes to share some of the most asked questions about Shakespeare and how she answers them.
Shakespeare in the news
We’re sharing some of the Shakespeare stories in the news in December 2025 and January 2026, from Hamnet to Bridgerton, The Beatles and King Lear, imagining Richard III’s voice, and remembering theater legend Tina Packer.
Shakespeare and Mathematics
Many Shakespeare fans don’t think of themselves as “math people.” But in Shakespeare’s world, math and literature were deeply intertwined. Mathematician Rob Eastaway explores how numbers, patterns, and mathematical ideas shaped Shakespeare’s plays.
Race B4 Race 2025, Seminar 3: What We’re Reading and Why
The RaceB4Race Mentorship Network reads The Other Faces of Arthur: Chivalric Whiteness in the Global North Atlantic
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
Romeo and Juliet
Macbeth
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Julius Caesar
Othello
Hamlet
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.