Esther French
Shakespeare in prison: How Richard II and Macbeth speak to those in solitary confinement
Blood hath been shed ere now, i’ th’ olden time, Ere humane statute purged the gentle weal; Ay, and since too, murders have been performed Too terrible for the ear. (Macbeth, 3.4.91) What would a roomful of convicted killers see…
'The magic of his language': Authors Nicole Dennis-Benn, Paul Goldberg, and Elizabeth Nunez share their Shakespeare stories
Three authors talk about the Shakespeare plays they’ve connected with and the way Shakespeare’s stories have influenced their own writing. Nicole Dennis-Benn Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun, says her favorite Shakespeare play is The Taming of the…
11 actors who have played Shakespeare and Austen roles
If you’re a fan of both Shakespeare and Jane Austen, you may have noticed some overlap in the actors who portray these classic roles in stage productions and film adaptations. As the curators of the Folger exhibition Will & Jane: Shakespeare,…
Quiz: Can you pair these Jane Austen and Shakespeare characters?
Take this quiz and test your knowledge of Jane Austen and Shakespeare! We give you a character from a Jane Austen novel, and you pick the corresponding character from Shakespeare’s plays, based on personality or storyline. Can you pair these Shakespeare…
Shakespeare's First Folio: The playlist
Curious about the book that gave us Shakespeare? We’ve assembled a playlist of seven Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes about the First Folio. Without this first collected edition of Shakespeare’s works, published in 1623, we might not have such famous plays as…
Follow the First Folio tour! Updates from Idaho, Iowa, Delaware, Nevada, and Connecticut
The First Folio continues its national tour celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare in 2016, drawing crowds wherever it goes. Idaho, Iowa, Delaware, Nevada, and Connecticut have all welcomed the Folger Shakespeare Library traveling exhibition, and the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne, WY,…
Which Shakespeare plays are most often taught in high school English classes?
Photo by James R. Brantley Think back to your high school English classes. Did you read Romeo and Juliet as a freshman? What about Hamlet in your senior year? Studying Shakespeare is required in the Common Core English Language Arts standards, but…
Balancing the body and consulting the heavens: Medicine in Shakespeare's time
Hyacum, et lues venerea. Stradanus inuent. ca. 1591. Folger Shakespeare Library. Few Elizabethans were wealthy enough to afford a licensed physician. Instead, they would rely on the knowledge of a local “wise woman,” with her home collection of remedy recipes and medicines. Or,…
Comic book casts Shakespeare's First Folio in a horror story
Cue the scary music! A new comic book injects a little horror and occult magic into the story of the First Folio, in an effort to make Shakespeare more accessible to a younger generation. 13th Night was written to accompany…
Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice': Perpetuating stereotypes or sparking much-needed conversations?
Matthew Boston (Shylock) in District Merchants, a variation on Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Folger Theatre, 2016. Photo by Teresa Wood. Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice ends badly for Shylock, with the court ruling against him and his claim on Antonio’s…
Folger curator shares new Shakespeare discoveries
Folger Curator of Manuscripts Heather Wolfe dropped a bombshell in The New York Times this past week: Newly discovered depictions of Shakespeare’s coat of arms from the seventeenth century provide documentary evidence that while the heralds made the grant of arms to his…
Follow the First Folio tour! Updates from Missouri, Arkansas, New York, and California
Sword-fighting workshops for kids! Selfies with Shakespeare! The First Folio continues on its tour of the United States during this special 400th anniversary year for Shakespeare. Here’s a quick cheat sheet of all the places where you can find our traveling exhibition, First Folio! The Book that…