Research and discovery

Othello, the Moor of Venice. Desdemona loved to hear him tell the story of his adventures / Louis Rhead. Folger Shakespeare Library.Of all Shakespeare’s plays, Othello is the one that is most frequently compared to Spanish literature in the age…

Fifty of the most important manuscripts and printed works related to Shakespeare’s life and career are on display in the Folger exhibition Shakespeare, Life of an Icon, curated by Heather Wolfe. Some of these documents mark important milestones for Shakespeare…

Shakespeare, Life of an Icon, the first of four special exhibitions at the Folger Shakespeare Library in 2016, offers a fresh and intimate perspective on William Shakespeare as the London playwright, bestselling poet, and man from Stratford. This once-in-a-lifetime assemblage shares…

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The travels of Persiles and Sigismunda. 1619. Folger Shakespeare Library. In preparing for the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s and Miguel de Cervantes’ deaths, it is worth considering the writing they produced toward the end of…

This year we remember the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. But 1616 also saw the passing of another great writer: Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, who we know best as the author of Don Quijote. As Shakespeare…

The diary of physician and vicar John Ward contains the only known account of Shakespeare’s death. On March 6, 1662/63 he writes, “Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting, and it seems drank too hard, for Shakespear died…

Katherine Duncan-Jones. Photo by Teresa Wood. Every few years it seems, a newly discovered portrait of Shakespeare emerges, only to be discredited by scholars after the obligatory media maelstrom. Many observers have noted that the cyclical nature of these announcements…

Frank R. Benson. Folger Shakespeare Library. Folger Finds delivers delightful and insightful moments with the Folger collection. Sarah Hovde, a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, shares the story behind the announcement of a turn-of-the-century “Shakespearean season” in London. It’s…

Roxi Victorian as Hero (center) with the cast of Folger Theatre’s Much Ado About Nothing, a 2009 production inspired by the D.C. Caribbean Carnival. Photo by Carol Pratt. As you’ll hear in this episode of the Folger’s Shakespeare Unlimited podcast, Shakespeare…

This copy of the Fourth Folio, published in 1685, is the first Shakespeare Folio to be added to the Folger Shakespeare Library collection since the days of our founders, Henry Folger (1857-1930) and Emily Folger (1858-1936). The collection now holds…

A recent episode of the Folger’s Shakespeare Unlimited podcast offers an interesting interview with British Shakespearean scholar and author Stanley Wells. At the heart of that conversation, one might say, is a simple question. For all the contributions of directors…