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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.

Excerpt - The Girl on the Balcony by Olivia Hussey
Girl on the Balcony - Olivia Hussey as Juliet
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt - The Girl on the Balcony by Olivia Hussey

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Read an excerpt from “The Girl on the Balcony: Olivia Hussey Finds Life After Romeo and Juliet,” a memoir by the star of Franco Zeffirelli’s classic film.

"So are you to my thoughts as food to life" and more Shakespeare quotes for Valentine's Day
Shakespeare valentines
Shakespeare and Beyond

"So are you to my thoughts as food to life" and more Shakespeare quotes for Valentine's Day

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Whether you’re giving a valentine to a sweetheart or a friend, why not say it with Shakespeare? See beautifully illustrated quotes for Valentine’s Day.

Excerpt -- 'Thanks a Lot Mr. Kibblewhite' by Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey, Thanks a Lot Mr. Kibblewhite (2018). Book cover.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt -- 'Thanks a Lot Mr. Kibblewhite' by Roger Daltrey

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Shakespeare & Beyond

In his recent memoir, “Thanks a Lot Mr. Kibblewhite,” Roger Daltrey of The Who writes, among other things, about playing the Dromio twins in the BBC’s TV movie of “The Comedy of Errors” (1983).

British Beef, French Style: Robert May's Braised Brisket
Robert May's brisket. Recipe developed by Marissa Nicosia. Photo by Teresa Wood.
Shakespeare and Beyond

British Beef, French Style: Robert May's Braised Brisket

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Marissa Nicosia

British beef cooked in a French style: Marissa Nicosia shares an early modern recipe for brisket from “The Accomplisht Cook,” by 17th-century English chef Robert May.

Drawing Shakespeare: Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar bas-relief. Drawing by Paul Glenshaw.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Drawing Shakespeare: Julius Caesar

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Paul Glenshaw

Artist Paul Glenshaw describes drawing the Folger bas-relief of “Julius Caesar,” in which assassins with their knives start to turn away as Caesar dies. He pairs the image with a painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Walters Art Museum in…

The First English Actresses
Nell Gwyn. Print, by R. Tomson after Peter Lely, from Cunningham, The story of Nell Gwyn. 1883. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Shakespeare and Beyond

The First English Actresses

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Georgianna Ziegler

In 1660, women (rather than men) began playing female roles, including female Shakespearean roles, on the professional English stage. Learn more about these early actresses.

In the Giving Vein: The Pop-Cultural Legacy of Olivier's Richard III
Shakespeare and Beyond

In the Giving Vein: The Pop-Cultural Legacy of Olivier's Richard III

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Austin Tichenor

With a US audience of tens of millions in its TV release at the same time it was released in American theaters, Laurence Olivier’s film “Richard III” (1955) has left a lasting, sometimes hilarious, legacy in pop culture, from Peter…

The "American Nectar": William Hughes's hot chocolate
Shakespeare and Beyond

The "American Nectar": William Hughes's hot chocolate

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Marissa Nicosia

The perfect post for a winter’s day: Marissa Nicosia shares an early modern recipe for hot chocolate, associated with 17th-century author, botanist, and pirate William Hughes.

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in January
Oberon (Edward O'Blenis) emerges to survey his fairy kingdom. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Shakespeare and Beyond

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in January

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Ben Lauer

Every month, we share a snapshot of Shakespeare in performance across the country. What’s onstage in January? We visit our theater partners to find out.

Five Faces of Shakespeare
Miss C.B. Currie. Miniature, Cosway binding, 1928. James Boaden, An Inquiry into the Authenticity of Various Pictures. 1824. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Five Faces of Shakespeare

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Esther Ferington

Among the many treasures of the Folger is a lavish “Cosway binding” that includes five unique miniatures by a 20th-century British artist, “Miss C. B. Currie,” based on the images from the book itself. One of the oddest to modern…

In the News: In Rare Books, Centuries-Old Proteins Can Reveal the Past
Sample of book dust being removed from 17th-century Bible. Folger Shakespeare Library.
Shakespeare and Beyond

In the News: In Rare Books, Centuries-Old Proteins Can Reveal the Past

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Recent news about proteomics (the study of proteins) in the humanities has included a Folger Shakespeare Library project, irreverently called Project Dustbunny, that studies proteins in rare books to learn about those who once handled or read them.

Excerpt - 'Mad Blood Stirring' by Simon Mayo
'Mad Blood Stirring.' Simon Mayo. 2019.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt - 'Mad Blood Stirring' by Simon Mayo

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Inspired by a real-life episode, Simon Mayo’s novel ‘Mad Blood Stirring’ tells the powerful story of a Shakespeare production by African American prisoners of war at Dartmoor prison in England, near the end of the War of 1812.

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