Shakespeare & Beyond
‘Julius Caesar’ and Shakespeare’s change in the American curriculum, from rhetoric to literature
Early 19th-century American students would study speeches from Shakespeare’s plays as examples of good public speaking, not as literature. How did Shakespeare’s place in the school curriculum change?
Up Close: A 1574 map of London
This 1574 hand-colored map of London and its surroundings shows us something of the London in which William Shakespeare lived and worked. Get an up-close look at the map and learn more about it by clicking through the arrows to…
Order It: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” But what comes next? Take this quiz to see if you can correctly order the lines of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18.
Up Close: The Plimpton “Sieve” portrait of Queen Elizabeth I
Get an up-close look at the painting and learn more about it by clicking through the arrows to see captions that zoom in on different parts of the image. Click the eye icon to hide or display the text.
Excerpt – ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell
Hamnet was William Shakespeare’s only son, but he died in 1596 at the age of 11. Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel, Hamnet, imagines a story in which a young Latin tutor—penniless and bullied by a violent father—falls in love with an…
Order It: Juliet’s “What’s in a name?” speech
Juliet’s famous balcony speech begins with “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” But what comes next? Take this quiz to see if you can correctly order the lines of the speech.
Excerpt – ‘Lady Romeo’ by Tana Wojczuk
American actress Charlotte Cushman was a 19th-century theatrical icon, known for playing traditionally male roles like Romeo and Hamlet. She was not the only actress of her time to play these parts, but her style was uniquely assertive and athletic.…
How to control dreams and avoid nightmares… and the ghost visitations in ‘Richard III’
Richard III, act 5 scene 3, in the tent, Richard asleep, ghosts of persons he had murdered. Painted by J. Opie, R.A. ; engraved by W. Sharp. Published 1794. Folger Shakespeare Library. Nightmares and ominous dreams are used to…
Romeo and Juliet: Is Shakespeare’s famous love story actually a play about violence?
Is Romeo and Juliet a play about love? Well yes, but it’s also about violence, argues Casey Kaleba, the fight director for many Folger Theatre productions and one of the Washington, DC, area’s most sought-after fight coaches for stage plays.
Excerpt — Keith Hamilton Cobb’s ‘American Moor’: An introduction by Kim Hall
At the heart of Keith Hamilton Cobb’s one-man play American Moor are explorations of blackness, racial dynamics in American theater, “ownership” of Shakespeare, and the subtext of Othello. He has performed the play across the United States, including an off-Broadway…
Up Close: Shakespeare's First Folio
Get an up-close look at the title page of one of the Folger’s 82 First Folios and learn more about it by clicking through captions that zoom in on different parts of the page.
Order It: Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy
“To be or not to be” – do you know what comes after? This quiz challenges you to drag and drop the lines of Hamlet’s famous speech into the correct order.