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Shakespeare & Beyond

Shakespeare & Beyond

The Shakespeare & Beyond blog features a wide range of Shakespeare-related topics: the early modern period in which he lived, the ways his plays have been interpreted and staged over the past four centuries, the enduring power of his characters and language, and more.

Glimpses of women athletes in 18th-century England
Shakespeare and Beyond

Glimpses of women athletes in 18th-century England

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Author
Peter Radford

A Folger fellow and former Olympian shares images and stories of 18th-century women athletes in England who competed in races, fights, cricket matches, and more.

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in February
Shakespeare and Beyond

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in February

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Author
Ben Lauer

There’s nothing intuitive about a month with 28 (sometimes 29) days and an unpredictable number of Rs in its name. But once you see what the Folger’s theater partners have onstage this month, seeing a show at a theater near…

Quiz: Match the lovers to their Shakespeare play
Two lovers
Shakespeare and Beyond

Quiz: Match the lovers to their Shakespeare play

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Shakespeare’s comedies and romances are full of lovers. See if you can match each pair of lovers with the Shakespeare play in which they appear.

Excerpt: 'A Fine Madness: A Christopher Marlowe Murder Mystery' by Alan Judd
A Fine Madness cover
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt: 'A Fine Madness: A Christopher Marlowe Murder Mystery' by Alan Judd

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe may not be as famous as his contemporary William Shakespeare, but his death at age 29 was far more dramatic — an argument over a bill that led to a stabbing, with the killer successfully pleading…

A 16th-century love charm of frog bones
Shakespeare and Beyond

A 16th-century love charm of frog bones

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Shakespeare & Beyond

In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, much of the comedic conflict derives from the application of the nectar of a magic flower. Under its influence, the queen of the fairies (Titania) becomes enamored of a donkey, and, through a bit…

The world of Italy in Shakespeare's comedies - Excerpt: Shakespeare and the Comedy of Enchantment
A scene that takes place in Venice in Italy
Shakespeare and Beyond

The world of Italy in Shakespeare's comedies - Excerpt: Shakespeare and the Comedy of Enchantment

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Charles Cattermole. A scene from The Merchant of Venice. 19th century. Folger ART Box C368.5 no.1 (size S) Italy is the setting most associated with Shakespeare’s comedies, providing layers of dramatic potential that Kent Cartwright explores in an excerpt from…

Artemis, a fierce and fickle goddess
The Greek goddess Artemis - also called Diana
Shakespeare and Beyond

Artemis, a fierce and fickle goddess

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emma poltrack

Artemis (possibly Shakespeare’s favorite) was the Greek goddess of chastity, hunting, and the moon, often depicted with her trusty bow and arrow and a short tunic to aid in running through the woods.

Quiz: Siblings in Shakespeare's plays
two twins looking at one another
Shakespeare and Beyond

Quiz: Siblings in Shakespeare's plays

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Folger ART File R667.3 no.7 copy 1 PHOTO (size S) Shakespeare’s plays are full of brothers and sisters. Test your knowledge by seeing if you can correctly identify these characters’ siblings. Siblings in Shakespeare’s Plays Shakespeare’s plays are full of…

The power of restriction: Joel Coen's 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'
Denzel Washington in “The Tragedy of Macbeth
Shakespeare and Beyond

The power of restriction: Joel Coen's 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Denzel Washington in The Tragedy of Macbeth, now streaming on Apple TV+ A movie that honors a play’s theatricality: That’s what director Joel Coen said he wanted for The Tragedy of Macbeth, his new adaptation of the Scottish play. The…

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in January
Shakespeare and Beyond

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in January

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Author
Ben Lauer

This January, new productions kick off at the Atlanta Shakespeare Company and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Plus, streaming productions of Macbeth, a podcast returns, and a new audio play.

Making BEDLAM: Creating a Shakespeare mash-up series
Production crew of BEDLAM: The Series
Shakespeare and Beyond

Making BEDLAM: Creating a Shakespeare mash-up series

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Eric Tucker Musa Gurnis

Production crew of BEDLAM: The Series. Photo by Ashley Garrett. Eric Tucker is an off-Broadway director and Artistic Director of Bedlam Theatre. Musa Gurnis is an early modern theater scholar and actor. When we pitched our Shakespeare mash-up series BEDLAM…

West Side Story: A new take on Romeo and Juliet, 60 years later
Shakespeare and Beyond

West Side Story: A new take on Romeo and Juliet, 60 years later

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Author
Carla Della Gatta

Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is a layering of theatrical devices, a Hollywood riff on both a famous musical and a Shakespearean story for 21st-century audiences.

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