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.
Shakespeare & Beyond
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Shakespeare & Beyond also explores the topics that shape our experience of Shakespeare today: trends in performance, the latest discoveries and scholarship, news stories, pop culture, interesting books, new movies, the rich context of theater and literary history, and more. As the word “beyond” suggests, from time to time Shakespeare & Beyond also covers topics that are not directly linked to Shakespeare.
Questions or comments? You can reach us at shakespeareandbeyond@folger.edu.
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The "American Nectar": William Hughes's hot chocolate
The perfect post for a winter’s day: Marissa Nicosia shares an early modern recipe for hot chocolate, associated with 17th-century author, botanist, and pirate William Hughes.
![“A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Chicago Shakespeare Theater Oberon (Edward O'Blenis) emerges to survey his fairy kingdom. Photo by Liz Lauren.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/01/48384164_10155984466542469_7833062797830258688_o.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in January
Every month, we share a snapshot of Shakespeare in performance across the country. What’s onstage in January? We visit our theater partners to find out.
![DSC_0073 sm Miss C.B. Currie. Miniature, Cosway binding, 1928. James Boaden, An Inquiry into the Authenticity of Various Pictures. 1824. Folger Shakespeare Library.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/01/DSC_0073-sm-1.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Five Faces of Shakespeare
Among the many treasures of the Folger is a lavish “Cosway binding” that includes five unique miniatures by a 20th-century British artist, “Miss C. B. Currie,” based on the images from the book itself. One of the oddest to modern…
![Sample Dustbunny 2 sm Sample of book dust being removed from 17th-century Bible. Folger Shakespeare Library.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/01/Sample-Dustbunny-2-sm.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
In the News: In Rare Books, Centuries-Old Proteins Can Reveal the Past
Recent news about proteomics (the study of proteins) in the humanities has included a Folger Shakespeare Library project, irreverently called Project Dustbunny, that studies proteins in rare books to learn about those who once handled or read them.
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Excerpt - 'Mad Blood Stirring' by Simon Mayo
Inspired by a real-life episode, Simon Mayo’s novel ‘Mad Blood Stirring’ tells the powerful story of a Shakespeare production by African American prisoners of war at Dartmoor prison in England, near the end of the War of 1812.
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Four Terrible New Year's Resolutions from "Love's Labor's Lost"
Happy New Year! We picked out four awful ideas for New Year’s resolutions from Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labor’s Lost” and added some hints for improvements.
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Discover the five most popular #FolgerFinds of 2018
Enjoy our five most popular #FolgerFinds posts on Instagram of items from the Folger Shakespeare Library collection, from a silhouette of a ‘Midsummer’ scene with Bottom and Titania to vintage photos of 19th-century actress Julia Marlowe.
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Enjoy the top five Shakespeare & Beyond blog posts of 2018
Enjoy our most popular Shakespeare & Beyond blog posts from 2018, an eclectic range including a tasty 17th-century recipe, a quiz, a new play on Sarah Bernhardt and Hamlet, a female science fiction author from 1666, and a look at…
![JoePapp_Delacorte sm The Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/12/JoePapp_Delacorte-sm-1.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Revisit the top five Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes of 2018
Revisit some of our most popular 2018 Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes, from Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway to a conversation with actor Derek Jacobi to the tyrants in Shakespeare’s plays.
![GlenshawMacbeth Macbeth bas-relief. Drawing by Paul Glenshaw.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/12/GlenshawMacbeth.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Drawing Shakespeare: Macbeth
Artist Paul Glenshaw describes drawing John Gregory’s bas-relief of Macbeth, the three witches, and their cauldron, with a focus on the vast cloud of smoke made from stone. “I realized as I drew it that the smoke was as much…
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Excerpt - 'How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England' by Ruth Goodman
From rudeness to gross behavior, Ruth Goodman’s book “How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England” sheds some surprising light on what bad behavior really meant, including the reason that Shakespeare had Sampson threaten to “bite my thumb” at another character…
![TWood_AYLI_640_web sm Aaron Krohn as Touchstone, in green with guitar, in As You Like It, Folger Theatre, 2017. Photo by Teresa Wood.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/12/TWood_AYLI_640_web-sm.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Thine Own Self
From the question “What are you?” (Countess Olivia) to “Tell my story” (Hamlet), Austin Tichenor looks at finding your identity and telling your story, through a decidedly Shakespearean lens.