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
![Shax_beyond_small_banner](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2022/11/Shax_beyond_small_banner.jpg?resize=1200%2C400&gravity)
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.
![Hero's wedding in Much Ado About Nothing Hero's wedding in Much Ado About Nothing](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/02/Much-Ado-Hero-wedding.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Much A-Don't About Dating
What does Shakespeare tell us of love? The plays provide us with a wealth of wooing and wedding, and many examples of what not to do.
![Valentine's Day](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/02/MAAN_val_quote_sm.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Valentine's Day: Say it with Shakespeare
Whether you’re giving a valentine to a sweetheart or a friend, why not say it with Shakespeare? We have a new set of beautifully illustrated Shakespeare valentines for you, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
![John William Waterhouse, Ophelia, 1910 John William Waterhouse, Ophelia, 1910](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/01/John-William-Waterhouse-Ophelia-1910.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
How Ophelia is represented in nineteenth-century English art
Victorian artists in England painted many portraits of Ophelia, including this one from 1889 by John William Waterhouse.
![Backroom Shakespeare Project Backroom Shakespeare Project](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/01/Backroom-Shakespeare-Project-2.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Shakespeare in a bar
There’s a newish trend in Shakespeare performance, which is to situate the play in a bar and have least one of the actors be drinking.
![Bernhardt/Hamlet cast Bernhardt/Hamlet cast](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/01/Bernhardt-Hamlet-cast-2018-crTWood.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Bernhardt/Hamlet: Inside a new play about Sarah Bernhardt
A new play by Theresa Rebeck, “Bernhardt/Hamlet,” shows Sarah Bernhardt grappling with one of Shakespeare’s greatest roles: Hamlet.
![002993 The copy of bargain and sale signed by the vendor when Shakespeare purchased the Blackfriars Gatehouse in London in 1613](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/01/002993.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
UNESCO gives 'Shakespeare documents' cultural status on its Memory of the World register
Ninety documents relating to Shakespeare’s life, including six from the Folger collection, have been added to the UNESCO International Memory of the World register.
![Hamlet at Nashville Shakespeare Festival Hamlet at Nashville Shakespeare Festival](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/01/Swordfight-Hamlet-Nashville.jpeg?fit=10%2C10)
What's onstage in January
Let’s check in with our theater partners with Shakespeare plays onstage in January, sharing a snapshot of Shakespeare in performance around America.
![S652 Francis Sandford. The history of the coronation of the most high, most mighty, and most excellent monarch, James II. 1687. S652](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/01/077090-James-II.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Pageants, banquets, and fireworks: How to celebrate a coronation
These books and documents from the Folger collection show the many ways an English coronation would be celebrated in the 16th and 17th centuries.
![FoolsandMortals-cover](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/01/FoolsandMortals-cover.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Excerpt: Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell
“Fools and Mortals,” a new novel from New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, tells the story of the first production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in Elizabethan England, from the perspective of William Shakespeare’s younger brother Richard.
![Shakespeare in Argentina Shakespeare in Argentina](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/01/Shakespeare-Argentina.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Shakespeare in Argentina
In Argentina, political turmoil and economic problems are key features in Shakespeare productions, as the country grapples with post-dictatorship culture.
![Doll Piccotto as Claudius in Hamlet Doll Piccotto as Claudius in Hamlet](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/01/Hamlet-Doll-Picotto.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Playing Claudius in an all-female production of Hamlet
Claudius is a multi-faceted villain with many conflicting human qualities. Might it be easier to see that when a woman is playing the role?
![pumpkin-pie-hannah-woolley-social](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/11/pumpkin-pie-hannah-woolley-social.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Top five Shakespeare & Beyond blog posts of 2017
It’s been a busy year on the Shakespeare & Beyond blog. These were the top five blog posts of 2017, from a pumpkin pie recipe to a quiz about props.