Shakespeare in the world
Five women artists: Interpreting Shakespeare through sculpture and book art
This blog post spotlights five female artists whose interpretations of Shakespeare’s works are part of the Folger collection. We decided to highlight three sculptors and two book artists.
Fakespeare: 5 quotes commonly misattributed to Shakespeare
Fake quotes have been in the news lately, from the Republican National Committee’s Abraham Lincoln flub to the bogus Winston Churchill quote about supporting funding for the arts during World War II. Such misattribution is familiar to Shakespeare enthusiasts. Every…
Shakespeare the salesman: Advertising Coca Cola, iPhones, and chewing tobacco
Shakespeare is a familiar sight in the theater and on the movie screen, but he’s permeated many other areas of American life. Advertisers have picked up on the ubiquity of Shakespeare for more than two centuries.
The biggest Shakespeare stories of 2016
Let’s take a moment to revisit some of the biggest Shakespeare stories in the news this year, from the discoveries that grabbed headlines to the spectacular celebrations of the 400th anniversary to the celebrity performances that generated the most buzz.…
America's Shakespeare: The Bard goes west to Hollywood
The costumes for Alan Bates and Glenn Close in Hamlet (1990). (The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design: Larry McQueen) Shakespeare has provided rich material for Hollywood’s film industry over the decades, from The Taming of the Shrew (1967) with…
America's Shakespeare: The Bard goes west to California’s Gold Rush mining camps
Theater was explosively popular in California’s Gold Rush era, and miners couldn’t get enough of Shakespeare. San Francisco and Sacramento had major theaters that were repeatedly burning down and being rebuilt almost immediately. Even the small gold-mining towns had stages…
The First Folio tour: How American communities celebrated Shakespeare in 2016
Throughout 2016, the Folger has been sending a copy of the First Folio to every state, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC, in a traveling exhibition.
Six great Shakespeare quotes about power and politics
Shakespeare has a lot to say about power and politics in his plays. These six quotes touch on what it means to be a king, the power of the law, what separates royal from common, and speaking truth to authority. Folger…
'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…
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…
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…
How is Shakespeare relevant? Share why he matters to you
We were inspired by the “wall of cards” about Shakespeare created by San Diego visitors to the First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare tour, and we’d like to know why Shakespeare matters to you, too. Try our new Shakespeare Matters card to join the conversation,…