Shakespeare & Beyond
Shakespeare discoveries by Folger Fellows
Enjoy a round-up of Collation blog posts from Folger Institute Fellows about their research on Shakespeare, his works, and legacy.
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in August
See what’s playing at our Shakespeare Theater Partners around the country this August.
Jane Austen at 250
2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth and the world is throwing a party in her honor all year long. We’re kicking off our celebration with a round-up of Austen stories and resources for reading and watching.
Fireworks in the early modern world
Explore fireworks in our collection, which include illustrations from extravagant public spectacles and technical manuals with instructions for making your own.
What's onstage in July
See what’s playing at our Shakespeare Theater Partners around the country this July.
Shakespeare quotes about summer
We’re celebrating the solstice with Shakespeare quotes about summer, which is mentioned 86 times in the plays and poems, more than any other season.
Artists and scholars on queer Shakespeare
We’re celebrating Pride Month by sharing some of our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast interviews and blog posts with acclaimed artists, actors, directors, scholars, and writers about queer Shakespeare over the centuries.
Order it: Viola's speech "I left no ring with her"
Viola aka Cesario is stunned to realize that she is in the middle of a love triangle, after Olivia sends a ring. Order the lines of her Twelfth Night speech as she puts it all together in our quiz.
Playing the Fool in Lear and Peking Opera
In an excerpt from The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear, author Nan Z. Da looks at the role of the Fool in Shakespeare’s King Lear and the Chou in Peking Opera.
Shakespeare's queer inspiration
In an excerpt from Straight Acting, Will Tosh tells the story of Richard Barnfield’s meteoric rise in literary London in the 1590s and how his groundbreaking poetry influenced Shakespeare’s sonnets.
New discoveries about the Shakespeare marriage
Matthew Steggle’s findings about a letter addressed to “Good Mrs Shakspaire” show the couple might have lived together in London at the time that Shakespeare was writing Hamlet and Othello, dispelling certain myths about their marriage.
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.