Shakespeare's comedies

As You Like It is one of Shakespeare’s festive comedies, but there are also heavier themes in the play. We asked Folger Director Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper for her take on Shakespeare’s beloved comedy.

In 1936, Britain’s first feature-length Shakespeare “talkie” premiered: As You Like It featuring Elisabeth Bergner and Laurence Olivier in his first Shakespeare role on screen. Explore the film’s press kits and study guides.

Shakespeare’s beloved pastoral comedy overflows with wit and poetry, including the memorable Seven Ages of Man speech which begins “All the world’s a stage.” Explore some of the play’s most well-known lines, in order of their appearance.

Reference Associate Erika Giddens, who manages the Folger’s Ask a Librarian service, takes us behind the scenes to share some of the most asked questions about Shakespeare and how she answers them.

Scholar Simon Smith explores Twelfth Night’s rich history on indoor and outdoor stages, asking how different spaces shape the play’s performance possibilities.

Viola aka Cesario is stunned to realize that she is in the middle of a love triangle, after Olivia sends a ring. Order the lines of her Twelfth Night speech as she puts it all together in our quiz.

Shakespeare’s comedy is filled with memorable lines, including its very first one. Explore some of the most well-known quotes, in order of their appearance in the play.

19th-century audiences adored Charlotte Cushman in Shakespeare, including Hamlet and Romeo but also Viola (and Cesario). Check out these Twelfth Night finds in our collection.

Twins, sometimes separated or confused for one another, appear more than once in Shakespeare’s plays. Test your knowledge with our quiz on the subject.

How can A Midsummer Night’s Dream speak to students today? Scholar Gail Kern Paster writes that the 400-year-old play connects to a wide range of contemporary issues that 21st-century audiences care about.

Stephen Greenblatt explores this question in this excerpt from Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud, a book co-authored with Adam Phillips.

Charles Cattermole. A scene from The Merchant of Venice. 19th century. Folger ART Box C368.5 no.1 (size S) Italy is the setting most associated with Shakespeare’s comedies, providing layers of dramatic potential that Kent Cartwright explores in an excerpt from…