Shakespeare on stage
Folger Theatre presents Measure for Measure, Hamlet, and The Comedy of Errors
Welcome to the Folger!
Choose how you want to experience Shakespeare, the humanities, and our world-renowned collection.
Visit Shakespeare’s home in America
Plan your visit
Get details and reserve timed-entry passes.
Take a tour
Reserve a group tour or student experience.
Eat at Quill & Crumb
Enjoy lunch or a quick snack at our café.
About us
The Folger Shakespeare Library showcases the utility of Shakespeare and the humanities in cultivating healthy civic life.
What’s on
Join us for theater, poetry, talks, and other programs.
Monteverdi’s Legacy
Our Shakespeare Exhibition
Folger Book Club: 'Fair Rosaline' by Natasha Solomons
Family Workshop: Laughter in the Learning Lab
Early Music Seminar: Monteverdi’s Legacy
Printing Press Demonstrations
New Ways into Romeo and Juliet with the Folger Method
The latest from our blogs and podcast
RIP Richard III
On August 22, 1485, Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field. 500 years later, Richard is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and popular villains. But how much of Shakespeare’s depiction is truth and how much is theatrical invention?
Collection Connections: 'The Fraud' by Zadie Smith
We revisit Erica Haugtvedt‘s August 2026 presentation as part of our Folger Book Club discussion of Zadie Smith’s The Fraud.
When Shakespeare is new
Arts administrator, writer, and advocate Howard Sherman recently saw The Winter’s Tale for the first time. He shares his approach to seeing Shakespeare after decades of theatergoing and the rewards of letting the production speak first.
Quiz: How much do you know about Measure for Measure?
Try our quiz about Measure for Measure to explore the characters and events of Shakespeare’s remarkable play.
Artificial Intelligence, 1588
Brandi K. Adams explores how concerns about “artificiall intelligence” manifest in the 16th and 17th centuries, reflecting the concerns of our own time.
The Shakespeare Consensus
Americans have conscripted Shakespeare in causes all the way back to Jamestown’s founding. Looking ahead, in a fractured world might Shakespeare’s talent for giving “us pause” or “time to pause. And attend” unite us in a new consensus?
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.
Folger Shop
Find unique gifts inspired by Shakespeare and our collection.