Welcome to the Folger
Enjoy great stories | Explore what makes you curious | Share the best in art, history, and literature with friends and family at the world’s largest Shakespeare collection.
Opening June 21: New exhibition galleries, café, and shop
Plan your visit: Folger Theatre
Folger Theatre is open already! Here’s what to expect when you come to see a performance of Metamorphoses.
Visiting after our building reopens June 21
Be among the first to explore our new spaces after a multi-year building renovation. Find hours, admission, and more details for planning your visit.
What’s on
Join us for in-person and virtual events: theater, poetry, music, and more.
About us
How did the world’s largest Shakespeare collection end up one block from the US Capitol? Explore the Folger’s origin story.
The latest from our blogs and podcast
The Reading Room Festival: Q&A with Reynaldo Piniella
Collection Connections: 'The East Indian' by Brinda Charry
Su Fang Ng revisits her May 2024 presentation on Brinda Charry’s The East Indian.
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in May
Find out what’s onstage at Shakespeare theaters across the country this month.
Mary Zimmerman on Adapting Ovid and Directing Shakespeare
Theater-maker Mary Zimmerman joins us on our podcast to talk about creating her award-winning adaptation of Metamorphoses.
A ‘declineing time’? The final illnesses of Constance and Elizabeth Lucy
Folger Fellow Emma Marshall explores the history of the women of the Lucy family.
About the Folger's Search for a New Director
The Folger is seeking a seasoned and strategic director with energy and vision to lead the organization into its second century. Learn more about the search process.
Our collection
The First Folio
The Folger has the world’s largest collection of First Folios. Learn more about the book that gave us Shakespeare.
A majestic portrait
The Folger collection includes about 200 paintings. This portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by George Gower is dated 1579, making it the oldest painting in our collection. Two years after he completed this portrait, Gower became Serjeant Painter to the Queen, making him the most important artist in England.
Our other Elizabeth I holdings include hand-signed letters, books, and even New Year’s gift rolls detailing her holiday gifts. It is the largest collection of Elizabeth I materials in North America.
Shakespeare’s works
View the full list of plays and poems to read, search, and download our bestselling editions of Shakespeare’s works.
Shakespeare’s most popular plays
Romeo and Juliet
Macbeth
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Julius Caesar
Othello
Hamlet
Explore
What was Shakespeare's theater like?
Learn about the Globe and other London playhouses where Shakespeare’s company performed. What was it like to be an actor there, or an audience member?
Teach
How can Shakespeare help 21st-century students be stronger readers?
Our Folger Method is revolutionizing how not just Shakespeare but all literature is taught using strategies that allow all students to own – and enjoy – complex texts.
Research
If we are what we eat, what can recipes from the past tell us?
Projects like Before ‘Farm to Table’ unite scholars and practitioners in investigations into the past to shed light on what matters to us today.
Support the things you love
Your gifts make access to our collection, learning opportunities, and exciting experiences happen.