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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.

Shakespeare scenes on Mardi Gras floats
Shakespeare and Beyond

Shakespeare scenes on Mardi Gras floats

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Author
Esther French

A poster in the Folger collections shows charming illustrations of Mardi Gras floats in New Orleans that represent 18 of Shakespeare’s plays.

Fakespeare: 5 quotes commonly misattributed to Shakespeare
Shakespeare and Beyond

Fakespeare: 5 quotes commonly misattributed to Shakespeare

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Author
Esther French

Fake quotes have been in the news lately, from the Republican National Committee’s Abraham Lincoln flub to the bogus Winston Churchill quote about supporting funding for the arts during World War II. Such misattribution is familiar to Shakespeare enthusiasts. Every…

Shakespeare the salesman: Advertising Coca Cola, iPhones, and chewing tobacco
Marcus Ward calendar
Shakespeare and Beyond

Shakespeare the salesman: Advertising Coca Cola, iPhones, and chewing tobacco

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Author
Esther French

Shakespeare is a familiar sight in the theater and on the movie screen, but he’s permeated many other areas of American life. Advertisers have picked up on the ubiquity of Shakespeare for more than two centuries.

Ira Aldridge takes the stage
Shakespeare and Beyond

Ira Aldridge takes the stage

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Author
Sarah Hovde

Ira Aldridge as Aaron in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Since their revival by David Garrick in the early eighteenth century, Shakespeare and his plays have always generated a certain aura of celebrity, sometimes referred to as “Bardolatry.” Following in the footsteps…

What's onstage in February at Shakespeare theaters across America
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Shakespeare and Beyond

What's onstage in February at Shakespeare theaters across America

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Author
Esther French

Which Shakespeare plays are onstage this month? We check in with our theater partners Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Love letters in Shakespeare: As You Like It, Hamlet, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona
As You Like It love letters
Shakespeare and Beyond

Love letters in Shakespeare: As You Like It, Hamlet, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona

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Author
Esther French

We look at three instances of love letters in Shakespeare’s plays: Orlando’s love poems to Rosalind in As You Like It, Hamlet’s passionate missive to Ophelia in Hamlet, and Proteus’s romantic letter to Julia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Kim Hall: Bringing African American experiences to Shakespeare
Shakespeare and Beyond

Kim Hall: Bringing African American experiences to Shakespeare

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Paul Robeson was the first modern African American to perform Shakespeare—to perform Othello, and he talks in his letters and in his essays about bringing his experiences as a student in a white arena, his experiences with racism, to the…

Quiz: Shakespeare's lovers
Shakespeare and Beyond

Quiz: Shakespeare's lovers

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Author
Esther French

Can you match up these Shakespearean lovers? Take the quiz and challenge your friends.

Shakespeare treasures, up for adoption
Acquisitions Night
Shakespeare and Beyond

Shakespeare treasures, up for adoption

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Shakespeare & Beyond

A 1957 Taming of the Shrew with beautiful lithographs. Song lyrics from 1769 extolling the goblet carved from a mulberry tree supposedly planted by Shakespeare. These and other recent additions to the Folger Shakespeare Library collection will be up for…

A new set of Shakespeare valentines for Valentine's Day
Shakespeare valentines
Shakespeare and Beyond

A new set of Shakespeare valentines 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? We have a new set of beautifully illustrated Shakespeare valentines for you, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Black History Month: A Shakespeare Unlimited podcast playlist
Shakespeare and Beyond

Black History Month: A Shakespeare Unlimited podcast playlist

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Robert Edmond Jones. Costume design for Paul Robeson as “Othello”. Ink and gouache drawing with fabric swatches attached, 1943. Folger Shakespeare Library. To commemorate Black History Month in February, we’re sharing a playlist of Shakespeare Unlimited episodes about the African…

Coat of arms discovery yields new insights into Shakespeare
Shakespeare coat of arms
Shakespeare and Beyond

Coat of arms discovery yields new insights into Shakespeare

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Dig deeper into one of the biggest Shakespeare stories of 2016: the discovery of previously unknown depictions of Shakespeare’s coat of arms. Folger Curator of Manuscripts Heather Wolfe and Folger Director Michael Witmore elaborate on the significance of those discoveries…

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