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Shakespeare & Beyond

Shakespeare & Beyond

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.

Bothered by madness: 'Hamlet' and 'The Northman'
Alexander Skarsgård in The Northman
Shakespeare and Beyond

Bothered by madness: 'Hamlet' and 'The Northman'

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Robert Eggers’s “The Northman” is not an adaptation of “Hamlet,” but a film in conversation with Shakespeare’s play, Austin Tichenor writes.

Q&A: Allan Clayton on playing Hamlet in Brett Dean's opera
Allan Clayton as Hamlet
Shakespeare and Beyond

Q&A: Allan Clayton on playing Hamlet in Brett Dean's opera

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Hamlet sings! A new opera version of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is onstage now at the Metropolitan Opera, with tenor Allan Clayton resuming the title role that he played for the opera’s world premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017. Read our…

Q&A: Jacob Ming-Trent on Falstaff, Bottom, and Shakespeare’s comedy
Jacob Ming-Trent in MERRY WIVES
Shakespeare and Beyond

Q&A: Jacob Ming-Trent on Falstaff, Bottom, and Shakespeare’s comedy

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Jacob Ming-Trent shares a favorite moment from his Shakespeare in the Park performance as Falstaff in “Merry Wives,” which premieres on PBS’s Great Performances May 20.

Birds of Shakespeare: The cuckoo
cuckoo
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The cuckoo

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Author
Missy Dunaway

Thanks to its peculiar reproductive cycle, distant migration, and haunting melodies, the cuckoo may hold the title for most folklore among Shakespeare’s birds.

Blood moon: Lunar eclipses in Shakespeare's plays
Lunar eclipse
Shakespeare and Beyond

Blood moon: Lunar eclipses in Shakespeare's plays

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Shakespeare & Beyond

With the total lunar eclipse happening this weekend, we take a look at three of the ways Shakespeare used eclipses in his plays and poems.

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in May
Shakespeare and Beyond

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in May

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Author
Ben Lauer

Read our round-up of May performances from Shakespeare theaters across the country.

Excerpt: Jonathan Bate's preface to the RSC's second edition of Shakespeare's complete works
RSC Complete Works
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt: Jonathan Bate's preface to the RSC's second edition of Shakespeare's complete works

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Shakespeare & Beyond

“To know Shakespeare thoroughly and read him well aloud, it was necessary to have a usable edition of his works, a text that did away with printer’s errors and the vagaries of old spelling and punctuation, that explained the more…

Excerpt - "William Shakespeare’s Avengers: The Complete Works" by Ian Doescher
The Avengers
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt - "William Shakespeare’s Avengers: The Complete Works" by Ian Doescher

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Shakespeare & Beyond

The Bard meets the MCU in Ian Doescher’s reworking of the four Avengers films as a Shakespearean play. Read an excerpt from the epic Battle of New York scene from the first Avengers film.

Shakespeare's birthplace: Embellishing an ordinary home
Shakespeare's Birthplace
Shakespeare and Beyond

Shakespeare's birthplace: Embellishing an ordinary home

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Author
Richard Schoch

Richard Schoch examines the first published image of William Shakespeare’s birthplace from 1769, reflecting on the transformation of a humble home into a significant tourist site in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Five Folger Finds: A bouquet of flowers for spring
Shakespeare and Beyond

Five Folger Finds: A bouquet of flowers for spring

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Author
Esther French

We’ve gathered a bouquet for you of flower illustrations in the Folger collection, ranging from watercolor paintings to hand-colored copperplate engravings. Enjoy these five blooms in celebration of spring.

Quiz: Can you identify these less well-known Shakespeare plays?
Pericles
Shakespeare and Beyond

Quiz: Can you identify these less well-known Shakespeare plays?

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Many people are familiar with the popular Shakespeare plays like “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” But what about the plays that are considered more obscure? Take the quiz to test your knowledge.

Something is rotten in the state of Gotham: Shakespeare and The Batman
Batman
Shakespeare and Beyond

Something is rotten in the state of Gotham: Shakespeare and The Batman

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor draws connections between Hamlet and Batman, noting the range of interpretations.

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