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Early modern life

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How to control dreams and avoid nightmares… and the ghost visitations in ‘Richard III’
Shakespeare and Beyond

How to control dreams and avoid nightmares… and the ghost visitations in ‘Richard III’

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Shakespeare & Beyond

  Richard III, act 5 scene 3, in the tent, Richard asleep, ghosts of persons he had murdered. Painted by J. Opie, R.A. ; engraved by W. Sharp. Published 1794. Folger Shakespeare Library. Nightmares and ominous dreams are used to…

“Ambiguous and dangerous meat:” Herpetophagy in the early modern world
Newts
Shakespeare and Beyond

“Ambiguous and dangerous meat:” Herpetophagy in the early modern world

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Michael Walkden

Why was herpetophagy (eating reptiles and amphibians) linked with madness in Shakespeare’s “King Lear”? Unpack the cultural anxieties involved in early modern English encounters with unfamiliar dietary norms.

“As luscious as locusts”: Othello and locust-eaters in the early modern world
locusts
Shakespeare and Beyond

“As luscious as locusts”: Othello and locust-eaters in the early modern world

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Author
Michael Walkden

Hiob Ludolf, Iobi Lvdolfi Dissertatio de locvstis anno praeterito immensa copia in Germania visis, 1694 (Wellcome Images, Public Domain) Folger 250379 (folio) In Act 1, Scene 3 of Othello, the manipulative Iago urges Roderigo, a wealthy Venetian recently disappointed in…

Possets, drugs, and milky effects: A look at recipes, Shakespeare's plays, and other historical references
posset recipe
Shakespeare and Beyond

Possets, drugs, and milky effects: A look at recipes, Shakespeare's plays, and other historical references

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Khristian S. Smith

Shakespeare’s plays are full of references to food and cookery, but they’re not always very appetizing. In Hamlet, the ghost of elder Hamlet describes the effect of the poison that Claudius pours into his ears, how it winds its way…

What were women reading? A dive into the Folger vault
Shakespeare and Beyond

What were women reading? A dive into the Folger vault

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Georgianna Ziegler

Peer with me into the books left behind by women readers in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. What kind of books were they reading? What sort of notes did they write in them? What can we learn about their…

Cursing Coriolanus and combating cornhoarders
title page
Shakespeare and Beyond

Cursing Coriolanus and combating cornhoarders

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Lauren Shook

Coriolanus at the Lyceum / Cyrus C. Cuneo. 1901. Folger ART Box C972 no.1 (size XL)In 1608, famine plagued England. Preachers responded with sermons begging the gentry to show compassion for the poor, King James I responded with royal proclamations…

Introducing Wild Things: Animals in early modern life and culture
title page
Shakespeare and Beyond

Introducing Wild Things: Animals in early modern life and culture

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Haylie Swenson

Edward Topsell. The historie of foure-footed beastes. 1607. Title page. Folger STC 24123 Copy 2 How many animals have you encountered today, and in what forms? From pets and urban species such as squirrels and sparrows, to meat products and…

Knots, cookies, and women's skill
knotts cookies
Shakespeare and Beyond

Knots, cookies, and women's skill

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Marissa Nicosia

A plate of beautifully baked cookies is a wonderful thing. It is a welcoming gesture for guests, it signifies a holiday or a special meal, and it is a demonstration of a baker’s skill at making something pleasing to the…

Much Ado About Stuffing: Recreating an early modern stuffing recipe
cutting open to the turkey and stuffing
Shakespeare and Beyond

Much Ado About Stuffing: Recreating an early modern stuffing recipe

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Elisa Tersigni Jack Bouchard Julia Fine Michael Walkden

Photo credit: Brittany Diliberto, Bee Two Sweet Today, turkey and stuffing are central fare on the holiday table. But turkeys weren’t even known in England until the 1520s, when they were introduced by explorers returning from the Americas. Turkey was…

Not Shakespeare’s cup of tea: Consuming caffeine in early modern England
Pamphlet against coffee
Shakespeare and Beyond

Not Shakespeare’s cup of tea: Consuming caffeine in early modern England

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Author
Elisa Tersigni

In Shakespeare’s plays, we find scenes that take place in taverns and alehouses – but no coffee shops – and characters who drink ale and wine – but not what we now think of as the quintessential English beverage: tea.…

Elizabethan education and Ben Jonson's school days
Hornbook
Shakespeare and Beyond

Elizabethan education and Ben Jonson's school days

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Karen Lyon

See education in Shakespeare’s day through the eyes of Ben Jonson: learning ABCs and the Lord’s Prayer with hornbooks, and drilling Latin grammar endlessly.

"Excrements of the earth": Mushrooms in early modern England
Illustration of mushrooms in a Czech herbal
Shakespeare and Beyond

"Excrements of the earth": Mushrooms in early modern England

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Author
Michael Walkden

Attitudes towards mushrooms in Shakespeare’s England reveal deeply held cultural anxieties about groups perceived as threats to the social fabric.

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