Esther French
Up Close: Gods and mortals in Ovid's Metamorphoses
How well do you know Greek and Roman myths? See if you can identify the mythological figures on the title page of this 1626 edition of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
How we got "The Winter’s Tale" and where it went from there
Where did Shakespeare get the idea for The Winter’s Tale? From publication in the First Folio to 18th-century adaptations, explore the history of this well-known play.
Shakespeare quotes about friendship
These Shakespeare quotes about friendship point to the complexities of relationships between characters in the plays.
Stepping into the forest of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream': An immersive installation based on 'A Knavish Lad'
This summer, visitors to The Playhouse at the National Building Museum can enjoy an immersive installation based on a beautiful book in the Folger collection, Joanna Robson’s “A Knavish Lad.” The book visually (and wordlessly) narrates “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”…
Five Folger Finds: Coronations, jubilees, and royal processions
Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II visited the Folger in 1991? In honor of her Platinum Jubilee, dig into some royal history in the Folger collection.
Five Folger Finds: A bouquet of flowers for spring
We’ve gathered a bouquet for you of flower illustrations in the Folger collection, ranging from watercolor paintings to hand-colored copperplate engravings. Enjoy these five blooms in celebration of spring.
Up Close: Lady Macbeth, America, and the stain of slavery
In a famous scene from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the sleep-walking Lady Macbeth desperately attempts to scrub her hands clean of the (invisible) blood stains from the murders committed by her and her husband. “Out, damned spot, out, I say!” she says,…
Translating the Chinese classic 'The Peony Pavilion' with a 'Shakespearean flavor'
The Peony Pavilion. “Kunqu performance at Peking University.” Wikimedia Commons / Antonis SHEN / CC BY-SA 2.0 Could Chinese literature be more popular with English-speaking audiences if translators favored words, phrases and poetic forms that spark associations with Shakespeare? This…
Quiz: Find the perfect Shakespeare quote for your valentine
Valentine’s Day is coming soon! Take the quiz to find out which of our illustrated Shakespeare quotes is the right one for your special someone.
“The way to save wealth; showing how a man may live plentifully for two-pence a day”: A 17th-century guide to frugal living
A common New Year’s resolution is to save more money, and there are numerous personal-finance books and websites that offer step-by-step plans for spending less, whether out of present necessity or in the hope of reaching a future financial goal.…
Venus and Adonis: The classical myth that inspired Shakespeare's epic poem and John Blow's 17th-century opera
What many consider to be the earliest known English opera shares its mythological subject with Shakespeare’s most popular published work during his lifetime: the epic poem Venus and Adonis. Here we see great artists from different centuries using different art…
Explore promptbooks from the 1950s festival Shakespeare Under the Stars
The Folger collection contains a number of prompt books from Shakespeare Under the Stars productions, which were gifts from Arthur Lithgow.