Research and discovery
The curious and complicated case of Locrine
The curious and complicated history of the 16th-century play “The Lamentable Tragedie of Locrine” prompts interesting conversations about the Shakespeare canon and its apocrypha.
Early modern sleep care: Recipes for restful sleep
Thomas Sheppey devoted several densely written pages of his 17th-century manuscript to the topic of sleep — how to trigger it, how to interrupt it, how to influence its depth and length, and even how to stop people talking in…
“More strange than true”: Finding America among the fairies
“I have had a most rare vision…” Bottom’s words in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” echo the language of Spanish conquistadors describing Aztec Mexico.
BECOMING OTHELLO! A gender-flipped journey onstage and in the archive
Debra Ann Byrd writes about encountering an early female Othello in the Folger collection and developing her memoir and solo show, Becoming Othello.
Translating the Chinese classic 'The Peony Pavilion' with a 'Shakespearean flavor'
The Peony Pavilion. “Kunqu performance at Peking University.” Wikimedia Commons / Antonis SHEN / CC BY-SA 2.0 Could Chinese literature be more popular with English-speaking audiences if translators favored words, phrases and poetic forms that spark associations with Shakespeare? This…
Small Latin and Less Greek: A Look at the Inkhorn Controversy
The Inkhorn Controversy in the 15th and 16th centuries focused on the use of long, Latinate words as opposed to shorter, Saxon-rooted English counterparts.
A Guide to Ladies: Hannah Woolley's missing book emerges from the archives
One of Hannah Woolley’s books has sat hidden in plain sight at the Folger since 1990—included in the Folger online catalog, but missing from an international database that scholars often use to search for early English books. It is the…
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.
Savory biscuits from a 17th-century recipe
Interested in adding variety to your Thanksgiving dinner? Try this modernized 17th-century recipe for savory biscuits based on a manuscript in the Folger collection.
In the spirit of Oktoberfest: Food, drink, and changing times in early modern Europe
As October comes to an end, we celebrate food, drink, and culture in the German cities of Shakespeare’s day, including the creation of beer and wine and the harvest festivals each fall, marked by our modern-day tradition of Oktoberfest.
Who decides what’s in a canon? Jeremy Lopez on English literary history
Lopez looks at which early modern plays were considered better than others (and why) and how the works selected to represent the era might change.
Shakespeare Unlimited: Hearing the voices of discovery
In our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast, now celebrating its 100th episode, you can hear so many surprising and often first-person stories by scholars, musicians, authors, actors, and others on all manner of Shakespearean topics.