Skip to main content
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.

Watch videos of "my Shakespeare story" and tell us yours
Joss Whedon tells Shakespeare stories for Folger #MySHX400
Shakespeare and Beyond

Watch videos of "my Shakespeare story" and tell us yours

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

For our yearlong celebration of Shakespeare in 2016, we’ve been inviting the world to share videos about personal connections and experiences with Shakespeare, with the hashtag #MySHX400. The results are varied, unexpected, and interesting. Enjoy some of those Shakespeare stories here and tell us…

Staging Shakespeare in a day
Kimberly Gilbert will play Joan la Pucelle in this year's Bootleg Shakespeare: Henry VI, part 1. Photo by Marcus Kyd.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Staging Shakespeare in a day

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Kimberly Gilbert will play Joan la Pucelle in 2016 in Bootleg Shakespeare: Henry VI, Part 1. Photo by Marcus Kyd. On Monday, July 18, the Taffety Punk Theatre Company will take over Folger Theatre to plan and perform a “bootleg” version…

How is Shakespeare relevant? Share why he matters to you
Shakespeare and Beyond

How is Shakespeare relevant? Share why he matters to you

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

We were inspired by the “wall of cards” about Shakespeare created by San Diego visitors to the First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare tour, and we’d like to know why Shakespeare matters to you, too. Try our new Shakespeare Matters card to join the conversation,…

Illustrating Shakespeare: Three witches on the heath
Shakespeare and Beyond

Illustrating Shakespeare: Three witches on the heath

Posted
Author
Sarah Hovde

Folger Finds delivers delightful and insightful moments with the Folger collection. Sarah Hovde, a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, shows us some surprise artwork in a 1910 edition of Macbeth. When cataloging a rare book, librarians try to balance describing the things…

Folger curator shares new Shakespeare discoveries
Shakespeare coat of arms
Shakespeare and Beyond

Folger curator shares new Shakespeare discoveries

Posted
Author
Esther French

Folger Curator of Manuscripts Heather Wolfe dropped a bombshell in The New York Times this past week: Newly discovered depictions of Shakespeare’s coat of arms from the seventeenth century provide documentary evidence that while the heralds made the grant of arms to his…

America's Shakespeare: Connections between the Bard and the Founding Fathers
Shakespeare and Beyond

America's Shakespeare: Connections between the Bard and the Founding Fathers

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

America’s Shakespeare: How George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams quoted Shakespeare during and after the American Revolution.

Happier without men? Shakespeare and Cervantes’ heroines, religious life, married life, and country life
Shakespeare and Beyond

Happier without men? Shakespeare and Cervantes’ heroines, religious life, married life, and country life

Posted
Author
Kathryn Swanton

Connan Morrissey (Hermione) and Laura C. Harris (Perdita) embrace at the end of The Winter’s Tale, directed by Blake Robison, Folger Theatre, 2009. Carol Pratt. Shakespeare’s heroines often end up with husbands who don’t seem good enough for them, while…

Follow the First Folio tour! Updates from Missouri, Arkansas, New York, and California
Shakespeare and Beyond

Follow the First Folio tour! Updates from Missouri, Arkansas, New York, and California

Posted
Author
Esther French

Sword-fighting workshops for kids! Selfies with Shakespeare! The First Folio continues on its tour of the United States during this special 400th anniversary year for Shakespeare. Here’s a quick cheat sheet of all the places where you can find our traveling exhibition, First Folio! The Book that…

Quiz: Shakespeare's fathers (and their children)
Shakespeare and Beyond

Quiz: Shakespeare's fathers (and their children)

Posted
Author
Esther French

Shakespeare’s Fathers   Which Shakespeare characters (fathers or their children) speak these lines? A daughter’s love   “Good my lord, You have begot me, bred me, loved me. I return those duties back as are right fit: Obey you, love…

50 episodes and counting: Shakespeare Unlimited podcast explores race, imperialism, magic, music, Star Wars, and more
Shakespeare and Beyond

50 episodes and counting: Shakespeare Unlimited podcast explores race, imperialism, magic, music, Star Wars, and more

Posted
Author
Esther French

The Shakespeare Unlimited podcast connects Shakespeare and his plays with our world today through interviews with actors, directors, and scholars—but also with astronomers, a conservator, and a professional magician, among others. The 50th episode, which deals with race, Othello, and how…

From Hero to Lady Susan: Kate Beckinsale in 'Love & Friendship'
Shakespeare and Beyond

From Hero to Lady Susan: Kate Beckinsale in 'Love & Friendship'

Posted
Author
Janine Barchas Kristina Straub

As curators of the upcoming exhibition Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity opening at the Folger on August 6, we could not help viewing the new Austen film Love & Friendship through a Shakespearean lens—and with…

Ask a Librarian: Summertime in Elizabethan England
Shakespeare and Beyond

Ask a Librarian: Summertime in Elizabethan England

Posted
Author
Karen Lyon

Q: I know about Queen Elizabeth I’s summer progresses, but how did ordinary people spend their summers in Shakespeare’s time? A: For most Elizabethans, summer presented little opportunity for a vacation from regular work routines. There were still farms to tend,…

1 62 63 64 65 66 70