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
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 new café.
What’s on
Join us for in-person and virtual events: theater, poetry, music, and more.
How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition
Twelfth Night
Folger Book Club: 'Queen B' by Juno Dawson
Folger Salon with Maria Cannon, Amy Cooper, and Carrington OBrion
DC, I Love You: Ready or Not
DIY at the Folger: The Tudor Ruff
Virtual Folger Salon with Charmaine Cordero, Esteban Crespo, and Toby Yuen-Gen Liang
On demand: The 2025 Eudora Welty Lecture with Amor Towles
Cocktails and Conversation with Michael W. Twitty
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
Shakespeare’s Boy Player Alexander Cooke
This episode is now available for members!
Shakespeare and Science Fiction
What is Shakespeare’s role in a genre of literature—science fiction—that flourished centuries after his plays first took the stage? Scholar Sarah Annes Brown explores the influence of Shakespeare the man and his writing.
'Queen B' Resource Guide
On June 5, 2025 the Folger’s virtual book club continues with a discussion of Queen B by Juno Dawson. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to witches and Anne Boleyn.
Famous quotes from Twelfth Night
Shakespeare’s comedy is filled with memorable lines, including its very first one. Explore some of the most well-known quotes, in order of their appearance in the play.
2025 summer reading guide
Summer’s a great time for reading, whether it’s at the beach or in your backyard. Explore our list of fiction and non-fiction titles about Shakespeare and his world featured on Folger blogs, podcast interviews, and our book club.
The tragedy of Chimes at Midnight
Orson Welles’s film about Shakespeare’s Falstaff is turning 60. Austin Tichenor rewatches the legendary movie and finds some new things worth celebrating in Welles’s take on the beloved knight.
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.