“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet,” says Juliet, as she considers the unavoidable fact that Romeo is a Montague. References to plants of all kinds richly enliven Shakespeare’s plays, from flowers to fruits, herbs, grains, seeds, vegetables, and entire forests, in which he often sets his scenes. Test your knowledge of Shakespeare’s plentiful use of plants with our quiz.
Quiz Maker – powered by Riddle
If you’d like to learn more about plants and trees in the plays, you may want to explore some of Shakespeare’s plays that are famous for their forest scenes like As You Like It and A Midsummer Night’s Dream—or the Before ‘Farm to Table’ website, including early modern recipe books full of herbs and other plants, as well as a look at the role of trade in sugar cane. Make sure to enjoy the Folger’s gardens and trees in your next visit to see exhibitions and performances at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Keep exploring
Shakespeare and the Environment, with Todd Andrew Borlik
Todd Andrew Borlik’s book explores the ways that the ecological concerns of Jacobean England appear in Shakespeare’s plays.
Eating plants in the early modern world
Explore turmeric, cinnamon, mint, and sugar to learn more about plants as food, and what they reveal about the early modern age and today.
Love-in-idleness, Part One: Adapting an early modern recipe for heartsease cordial
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.
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