Welcome to the Folger
Enjoy great stories | Explore what makes you curious | Share the best in art, history, and literature with friends and family at the world’s largest Shakespeare collection.
The Folger is open! New exhibition galleries, gardens, and shop
Plan your visit
Get details and reserve timed-entry passes.
Explore our exhibitions
See what’s on view in our galleries.
Check out our shop
Gifts, games, merch, and more!
Eat at Quill & Crumb
Enjoy lunch or a quick snack at our new café.
What’s on
Join us for in-person and virtual events: theater, poetry, music, and more.
A Room in the Castle
How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition
by Alexene Farol Follmuth
Folger Book Club: 'Twelfth Knight'
Family Workshop: Spring Has Sprung
The O.B. Hardison Poetry Series Finale Reading Ellen Bass
Out of the Vault
Shakespeare's Birthday Celebration
Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture: "Shakespeare Beyond Relevance" with Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper
Folger Salon with Douglas Clark, Jamie Gemmell, and Patricia A. Matthew
About us
How did the world’s largest Shakespeare collection end up one block from the US Capitol? Explore the Folger’s origin story.
The latest from our blogs and podcast
The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots
Historian Jade Scott draws on hundreds of encrypted letters, including 57 recently unearthed letters in a French archive and decoded, to paint a vivid portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots in her new book, Captive Queen.
'Twelfth Knight' Resource Guide
On April 3, 2025 the Folger’s virtual book club continues with a discussion of Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, gaming, and girlhood.
Folger Finds: Anne of Cleves' gift to Henry VIII
Explore a uniquely inscribed Book of Hours presented to Henry VIII by his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
Reimagining Judith Shakespeare with Grace Tiffany
Judith Shakespeare’s untold story comes to life in The Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter. Tiffany imagines Judith’s journey through rebellion and scandal in a world of political upheaval and Puritan rule. Explore the history, fiction, and legacy of Shakespeare’s daughter.
The Hamlet variations
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is having a moment—actually two, with A Room in the Castle and The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel) exploring Shakespeare’s characters before, during, and after the events of his greatest tragedy.
The Mirror and The Light in the Folger collection
Ahead of the US premiere of The Mirror and the Light, curator Heather Wolfe shares the juicy stories behind items in our collection related to Cromwell and Anne of Cleves.
Our collection
The First Folio
The Folger has the world’s largest collection of First Folios. Learn more about the book that gave us Shakespeare.
A majestic portrait
The Folger collection includes about 200 paintings. This portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by George Gower is dated 1579, making it the oldest painting in our collection. Two years after he completed this portrait, Gower became Serjeant Painter to the Queen, making him the most important artist in England.
Our other Elizabeth I holdings include hand-signed letters, books, and even New Year’s gift rolls detailing her holiday gifts. It is the largest collection of Elizabeth I materials in North America.
Shakespeare’s works
View the full list of plays and poems to read, search, and download our bestselling editions of Shakespeare’s works.
Shakespeare’s most popular plays
Romeo and Juliet
Macbeth
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Julius Caesar
Othello
Hamlet
Explore
What was Shakespeare's theater like?
Learn about the Globe and other London playhouses where Shakespeare’s company performed. What was it like to be an actor there, or an audience member?
Teach
How can Shakespeare help 21st-century students be stronger readers?
Our Folger Method is revolutionizing how not just Shakespeare but all literature is taught using strategies that allow all students to own – and enjoy – complex texts.
Research
If we are what we eat, what can recipes from the past tell us?
Projects like Before ‘Farm to Table’ unite scholars and practitioners in investigations into the past to shed light on what matters to us today.
Support the things you love
Your gifts make access to our collection, learning opportunities, and exciting experiences happen.