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.
Shakespeare & Beyond also explores the topics that shape our experience of Shakespeare today: trends in performance, the latest discoveries and scholarship, news stories, pop culture, interesting books, new movies, the rich context of theater and literary history, and more. As the word “beyond” suggests, from time to time Shakespeare & Beyond also covers topics that are not directly linked to Shakespeare.
With the golden eagle, we continue following artist Missy Dunaway on a bird-watching expedition through Shakespeare’s works. The eagle soars throughout Shakespeare's world, Renaissance literature, and beyond - symbolizing strength, power, and the divine.
Stepping into the forest of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream': An immersive installation based on 'A Knavish Lad'
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Author
Esther French
This summer, visitors to The Playhouse at the National Building Museum can enjoy an immersive installation based on a beautiful book in the Folger collection, Joanna Robson’s "A Knavish Lad." The book visually (and wordlessly) narrates "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" in 16 vignettes, four of which are reproduced on a human scale for the installation.
Love-in-idleness, Part Two: Intoxicating botanicals in 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream'
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Marissa Nicosia
Love-in-idleness, a flower also called pansy or heartsease, plays an important role in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," as Marissa Nicosia explores.
Love-in-idleness, Part One: Adapting an early modern recipe for heartsease cordial
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Author
Marissa Nicosia
Marissa Nicosia adapts an early modern recipe for heartsease cordial. This purple pansy syrup was used to “clear the heart” – to treat the chest and lungs or to reduce fever – but also for healing heartaches and other amorous ailments.
A summer Shakespeare adventure: 'Her Majesty’s Will' by David Blixt
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Author
Austin Tichenor
Austin Tichenor recommends an adventure novel starring a young Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, who uncover a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.
Q&A: Lolita Chakrabarti - The 'Red Velvet' playwright on 19th-century Black actor Ira Aldridge
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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond
Lolita Chakrabarti shares historical context about pioneering 19th-century Black actor Ira Aldridge, the subject of her play Red Velvet, including a notable detail about his funeral in Poland which she learned after she'd written the play.
A Folger fellow shares her research into the language of slavery in early modern England, and more specifically, the use of that language in the works of William Shakespeare.
