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Shakespeare & Beyond

Shakespeare & Beyond

The Shakespeare & Beyond blog features a wide range of Shakespeare-related topics: the early modern period in which he lived, the ways his plays have been interpreted and staged over the past four centuries, the enduring power of his characters and language, and more.

Henry VIII and herbals: Prince Charles and Camilla's visit to the Folger Shakespeare Library
Prince Charles and Camilla
Shakespeare and Beyond

Henry VIII and herbals: Prince Charles and Camilla's visit to the Folger Shakespeare Library

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Shakespeare & Beyond

See some of the Folger collection items that Charles and Camilla examined when they visited the Folger in 2005, including an early modern book on plants that got the prince’s attention.

Shakespeare Lines for Evil Laughter
Shakespeare and Beyond

Shakespeare Lines for Evil Laughter

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emma poltrack

We’re helping you prepare for DC Public Library’s Evil Laugh Contest with some deviously delightful Shakespeare lines you can use in your performance.

Birds of Shakespeare: The ring-necked pheasant
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The ring-necked pheasant

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Missy Dunaway

Artist Missy Dunaway explores references to the pheasant in “The Winter’s Tale” on her bird-watching expedition through Shakespeare’s works.

Adapting Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra' for opera
Amina Edris as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra
Shakespeare and Beyond

Adapting Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra' for opera

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Author
Lucia Scheckner

Get an insider’s look at adapting a Shakespeare play for opera with this blog post by the dramaturg and libretto consultant for the new John Adams opera of “Antony and Cleopatra.”

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in September
Shakespeare and Beyond

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in September

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Ben Lauer

Find out what’s onstage at a Shakespeare theater near you in September.

Excerpt - "Susanna Hall, Her Book" by Jennifer Falkner
Susanna Hall Her Book cover
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt - "Susanna Hall, Her Book" by Jennifer Falkner

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Shakespeare & Beyond

In the opening scene of Jennifer Falkner’s novella “Susanna Hall, Her Book,” the queen of England has just arrived at New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon. But Susanna, the eldest daughter of William Shakespeare, has reasons for not wanting to host Henrietta…

Gaming and grieving with Shakespeare: Gabrielle Zevin’s new novel puts the ghostliness in gameplay
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Shakespeare and Beyond

Gaming and grieving with Shakespeare: Gabrielle Zevin’s new novel puts the ghostliness in gameplay

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Author
Sophia Richardson

Sophia Richardson explores how Gabrielle Zevin’s new novel about video games, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” is also a book about Shakespeare.

“I do fear thy nature”: Kim Wexler and echoes of 'Macbeth' in 'Better Call Saul'
A man and woman sitting on a bed apart from each other in Better Call Saul
Shakespeare and Beyond

“I do fear thy nature”: Kim Wexler and echoes of 'Macbeth' in 'Better Call Saul'

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor draws comparisons between Kim Wexler and Lady Macbeth, unpacking Shakespearean themes in the “Better Call Saul” series.

Sometimes the old tropes are the best tropes: Shakespeare and Our Flag Means Death
Two pirates on board a ship in Our Flag Means Death
Shakespeare and Beyond

Sometimes the old tropes are the best tropes: Shakespeare and Our Flag Means Death

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Author
Melissa Rohrer

Melissa Rohrer explores how “Our Flag Means Death,” a show inspired by the true story of the early 18th-century “Gentleman Pirate” Stede Bonnet, draws on character types and narratives that Shakespeare used frequently across many of his plays, while breathing…

Birds of Shakespeare: The kingfisher
kingfisher painting
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The kingfisher

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Missy Dunaway

Artist Missy Dunaway explores references to the kingfisher in two Shakespeare plays, King Lear and 1 Henry VI.

Tips for taking your kids to their first Shakespeare play
A woman with her young daughter in the Folger theater
Shakespeare and Beyond

Tips for taking your kids to their first Shakespeare play

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Ben Lauer

Read great tips for helping your kids have a blast watching their very first Shakespeare play.

The soliloquy and Hamlet - Excerpt: 'The Elizabethan Mind' by Helen Hackett
The Elizabethan Mind
Shakespeare and Beyond

The soliloquy and Hamlet - Excerpt: 'The Elizabethan Mind' by Helen Hackett

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Helen Hackett explores Shakespeare’s use of the soliloquy in “Hamlet,” including the famous “To be or not to be” speech, in this excerpt from her new book, “The Elizabethan Mind: Searching for the Self in an Age of Uncertainty,” published…

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