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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.

Play on! Q&A: Aditi Kapil on translating 'Measure for Measure'
At the June 2019 reading of the Measure for Measure translation
Shakespeare and Beyond

Play on! Q&A: Aditi Kapil on translating 'Measure for Measure'

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Shakespeare & Beyond

In choosing which Shakespeare play to translate for the Play on! project, playwright Aditi Brennan Kapil let herself be influenced by dramaturg Liz Engelman, who was attracted to the themes of Measure for Measure and their resonance in today’s world.…

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in June
The audience waits for the show to start at the amphitheater in Samuall Grand Park, home to Shakespeare Dallas.
Shakespeare and Beyond

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in June

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Author
Ben Lauer

Each month, we bring you a snapshot of Shakespeare in performance across America. Find our what the Folger’s theater partners have onstage in June.

Quiz: Shakespeare trivia
Shakespeare and Beyond

Quiz: Shakespeare trivia

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Shakespeare & Beyond

What is Shakespeare’s shortest play? Which female character has the most lines? Test your Shakespeare knowledge with this trivia quiz.

Emma Smith on Falstaff: An excerpt from 'This Is Shakespeare'
This is Shakespeare book cover
Shakespeare and Beyond

Emma Smith on Falstaff: An excerpt from 'This Is Shakespeare'

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Shakespeare scholar Emma Smith takes 20 chapters to discuss 20 different Shakespeare plays in her new book This Is Shakespeare, offering insights on key characters, plot twists, and performance challenges. The excerpt below, which focuses on the character of Falstaff…

Savoring the seasons and Lettice Pudsey’s fritters
Fritter on a plate
Shakespeare and Beyond

Savoring the seasons and Lettice Pudsey’s fritters

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Author
Marissa Nicosia

Food is intimately connected to climate and season. It was for Shakespeare and his contemporaries, and it is for us today. Beautiful, local produce is once again available in the northeast now that spring is turning into early summer. In…

"A Great Reckoning": a closer look at a fateful Final Jeopardy clue
James Holzhauer thinks about the Final Jeopardy clue on the June 3 episode of Jeopardy
Shakespeare and Beyond

"A Great Reckoning": a closer look at a fateful Final Jeopardy clue

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Author
Ben Lauer

We explore the history behind the Shakespearean Final Jeopardy clue that unseated “Jeopardy” champion James Holzhauer.

Drawing Shakespeare: Henry IV, Part 1
Drawing of the Folger bas-relief depicting a scene from Henry IV, Part 1
Shakespeare and Beyond

Drawing Shakespeare: Henry IV, Part 1

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Author
Paul Glenshaw

Drawing by Paul Glenshaw of the Folger bas-relief depicting a scene from Henry IV, Part 1 This is the tenth post in a series by artist Paul Glenshaw about drawing the bas-reliefs by sculptor John Gregory on the front of…

Love's Labor's Lost: The end of study
Love's Labor's Lost
Shakespeare and Beyond

Love's Labor's Lost: The end of study

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Author
Austin Tichenor

“What’s especially delightful about Love’s Labor’s Lost is that it’s a comedy about melancholy, a satire on youthful arrogance, intellectual pretension, and romantic naiveté,” writes Austin Tichenor.

5 things to look for when you watch "As You Like It"
Shakespeare and Beyond

5 things to look for when you watch "As You Like It"

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Author
Ben Lauer

What should you watch for in a production of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It?” We asked some friends what they look for in this classic play.

Masters of borrowing: Links between Shakespeare and Game of Thrones
Titus Andronicus
Shakespeare and Beyond

Masters of borrowing: Links between Shakespeare and Game of Thrones

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Author
Kate Long

If you’re a fan of “Game of Thrones” or “A Song of Ice and Fire,” you may have noticed some echoes from Shakespeare’s plays.

Influences for Love's Labor's Lost: Contemporary texts and historical figures
Hunting scene with Elizabeth
Shakespeare and Beyond

Influences for Love's Labor's Lost: Contemporary texts and historical figures

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Author
emma poltrack

Love’s Labor’s Lost is one of three Shakespeare plays without a primary source (the others being A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest), but that doesn’t mean it was created in a vacuum. Using four items from the Folger collection,…

Elizabeth I and the Qing Empress Xiaozhuang
Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I and Empress Xiaozhuang
Shakespeare and Beyond

Elizabeth I and the Qing Empress Xiaozhuang

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Author
Georgianna Ziegler

Like Elizabeth, Xiaozhuang was a woman with intellectual and political interests, attaining the powerful position of Empress Dowager in Qing China.

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