Top five Shakespeare & Beyond blog posts of 2025

We covered many topics on our Shakespeare & Beyond blog this year, from the recent decoding of 57 letters from Mary, Queen of Scots, the most important new find on Mary for more than a century, to a newly discovered portrait that may depict the “fair youth” of Shakespeare’s sonnets. We recommended ideas for summer reading and shared excerpts from new books about the women writers that Jane Austen read; the Shakespeare Ladies Club who brought Shakespeare’s play back to the stage; and a memoir by Sir Anthony Hopkins. Our Folger Finds collection posts included a letter from Elizabeth I’s favorite, Robert Dudley; Bess of Hardwick, Elizabethan Power Player; and Shakespearean actors Sarah Siddons, 18th century London’s great tragedienne, and 19th century American Charlotte Cushman, who was famous for her performances of both feminine and masculine roles. And the quizzes—includingShakespeare, writing, and the imagination; the women in Hamlet; and Shakespeare and twins, among others.

Here’s our top five Shakespeare & Beyond blog posts from 2025. Happy reading!

1. The fate of Ophelia

The first track on Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, is “The Fate of Ophelia”… which got us thinking, well, what is the fate of Ophelia? And why can’t we stop writing, painting, and singing about her?

2. Shakespeare quotes about fools

Here are just a few of the more than 300 times the word “fool” is mentioned in Shakespeare’s works, often by some of his wise—and witty—fools.

3. New discoveries about the Shakespeare marriage

New research from scholar Matthew Steggle about a 17th-century letter addressed to “Good Mrs Shakspaire” shows the couple might have lived together in London at the time that Shakespeare was writing Hamlet and Othello, dispelling certain myths about their marriage.

4. Quiz: Ghosts in Shakespeare’s plays

One of the many delights about the vast range of characters in Shakespeare’s plays is the fact that several of them are not even alive, but are ghosts. Challenge yourself with our haunting quiz about the phantoms and apparitions in the plays and how they are portrayed.

5. Saint Crispin’s Day speech from Henry V

We may recognize Saint Crispin’s Day from its famous mention in Shakespeare’s Henry V. But who is Saint Crispin and why is he celebrated on October 25?

What were your favorite Shakespeare & Beyond blog posts from 2025? Is there a particular topic that you’d like us to cover in the new year?