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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.

Beware the Ides of March
Shakespeare and Beyond

Beware the Ides of March

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Author
Georgianna Ziegler

Perhaps if Caesar had paid attention to the Soothsayer and to his wife Calpurnia’s premonitions, he might not have been killed—but that would be re-writing history.

Follow the First Folio tour! Updates from Maine, Michigan, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Texas
Shakespeare and Beyond

Follow the First Folio tour! Updates from Maine, Michigan, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Texas

Posted
Author
Esther French

“If music be the food of love, play on…” At the National Music Museum in South Dakota, Shakespeare’s First Folio is surrounded by musical instruments from the playwright’s era, including the only English-made Renaissance cittern (c. 1579) known to survive…

Life of an icon: Shakespeare as playwright and poet
Shakespeare and Beyond

Life of an icon: Shakespeare as playwright and poet

Posted
Author
Esther French

Fifty of the most important manuscripts and printed works related to Shakespeare’s life and career are on display in the Folger exhibition Shakespeare, Life of an Icon, curated by Heather Wolfe. Some of these documents mark important milestones for Shakespeare…

Teller and The Tempest: Magic in Shakespeare's time
CST The Tempest
Shakespeare and Beyond

Teller and The Tempest: Magic in Shakespeare's time

Posted
Author
Esther French

Prospero (Larry Yando) suspends his daughter Miranda (Eva Louise Balistreiri) in midair as the ever-watchful Ariel (Nate Dendy) assists his master in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of The Tempest, directed by Aaron Posner and Teller, in the Courtyard Theater, 2015.…

Documenting the life of an icon: Shakespeare at 400 years
Shakespeare and Beyond

Documenting the life of an icon: Shakespeare at 400 years

Posted
Author
Esther French

Shakespeare, Life of an Icon, the first of four special exhibitions at the Folger Shakespeare Library in 2016, offers a fresh and intimate perspective on William Shakespeare as the London playwright, bestselling poet, and man from Stratford. This once-in-a-lifetime assemblage shares…

Prospero and Persiles: Comparing the late romances of Shakespeare and Cervantes
Shakespeare and Beyond

Prospero and Persiles: Comparing the late romances of Shakespeare and Cervantes

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Author
Kathryn Swanton

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The travels of Persiles and Sigismunda. 1619. Folger Shakespeare Library. In preparing for the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s and Miguel de Cervantes’ deaths, it is worth considering the writing they produced toward the end of…

A contract for Othello
Othello Program Cover
Shakespeare and Beyond

A contract for Othello

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Author
Sarah Hovde

Paul Robeson as Othello Folger Finds delivers delightful and insightful moments with the Folger collection. Sarah Hovde, a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, unearths the contract between the producer, the director, and the star of the longest-running Shakespeare play…

Explore Shakespeare and world cinema, from China to Brazil
Maqbool
Shakespeare and Beyond

Explore Shakespeare and world cinema, from China to Brazil

Posted
Author
Esther French

Can you imagine Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra transposed to rural India, where Antony becomes a cock fighter and Cleopatra a medicine woman? Or what about a Hamlet in the Himalayas, with the title character seeking forgiveness and reconciliation instead of revenge? Mark…

David Garrick and the cult of bardolatry
David Garrick in Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare and Beyond

David Garrick and the cult of bardolatry

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Author
Esther French

David Garrick and George Anne Bellamy in Romeo and Juliet. Based on a painting by Benjamn Wilson engraved by Ravenet. Enamel, ca. 1765. Folger Shakespeare Library. The leading actor-manager of the 1700s, David Garrick revolutionized English theatre with a lively,…

Follow the First Folio! Tour updates from Florida, Vermont, Kansas, Illinois, New Mexico, and Arizona
Marlon Brando costume
Shakespeare and Beyond

Follow the First Folio! Tour updates from Florida, Vermont, Kansas, Illinois, New Mexico, and Arizona

Posted
Author
Esther French

This Marlon Brando costume is on display with the First Folio exhibition at Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda, IL. From a Hot Pepper Shakespeare contest to a Romeo and Juliet masquerade ball, the party doesn’t stop. These First Folio…

Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, and the president's assassination
Abraham Lincoln
Shakespeare and Beyond

Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, and the president's assassination

Posted
Author
Esther French

Abraham Lincoln. Copyright 1894 by H.W. Fay. Folger Shakespeare Library. Growing up on the frontier, Abraham Lincoln had few books to read in his early days—but among them were the works of Shakespeare, which Lincoln cherished throughout his life. The…

These Shakespeare valentines are perfect for Valentine's Day
Shakespeare and Beyond

These Shakespeare valentines are perfect for Valentine's Day

Posted
Author
Esther French

Whether you’re giving a valentine to a sweetheart or a friend, why not say it with Shakespeare? We have a new set of beautifully illustrated Shakespeare valentines for you, just in time for Valentine’s Day. You can view the complete…

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