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 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.
Five Folger Finds for beating the heat and cooling off this summer
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Shakespeare & Beyond
Is the July heat getting to you? Here are five items from the Folger Shakespeare Library collection that are just right for summertime. 1. A 1699 guide to swimming “In the seventeenth century, swimming was viewed not so much as…
(left-right) Mr. Lewis Waller as Henry V (ca. 1910); Peter Crook as King Henry IV, Folger Theatre, 2019, C. Stanley Photography; Zach Appelman as Henry V, Folger Theatre, 2013. Photo by Scott Suchman; Edwin Booth as King Henry VIII. Shakespeare…
In a recent post on the Folger’s Collation blog, assistant curator Elizabeth DeBold shared a small set of photographs, newly added to the Folger collection, that document a 1933 Japanese production of Hamlet: These five photos provide a glimpse of…
Richard III and disability: Excerpt - "Unfixable Forms" by Katherine Schaap Williams
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Shakespeare & Beyond
What did Richard III and his disability represent to Shakespeare’s original audiences? And how has this Shakespeare villain shaped the field of early modern disability studies today? Katherine Schaap Williams takes a closer look at these questions in the below…
“This is the English, not the Turkish court”: Ottomans in Shakespeare’s Henriad
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Aisha Hussain
In Shakespeare’s Henriad – Richard II (1595), Henry IV Part I (1596), Henry IV Part II (1597), and Henry V (1599) – English Christian characters frequently employ negative Turkish tropes when criticizing each other’s corrupt political agendas. However, these tropes differ from…
(left-right) Joshua David Robinson, Matt Dallal, Zachary Fine, and Jack Schmitt in Love’s Labor’s Lost, Folger Theatre, 2019. Photo by Brittany Diliberto. You’d think I’d have a better answer to the question, “What’s your favorite Shakespeare play?” — but it’s…
A closer look at pregnancy, midwifery, and breastfeeding in the Tudor period
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Shakespeare & Beyond
Jakob Rüff. The expert midwife, 1637. Folger STC 21442 What was everyday life like for women throughout Tudor society? Elizabeth Norton, a historian of the queens of England and the Tudor period, shares stories on the Folger’s Shakespeare Unlimited podcast…
Summer reading: Find your next book by listening to these author interviews
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Shakespeare & Beyond
Looking for a good beach read? Something to bring on your long plane ride? Listen to these author interviews from the Folger’s Shakespeare Unlimited podcast to find a novel inspired by Shakespeare’s stories and his world. Naomi Miller on Mary…
Up Close: Lady Macbeth, America, and the stain of slavery
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Esther French
In a famous scene from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the sleep-walking Lady Macbeth desperately attempts to scrub her hands clean of the (invisible) blood stains from the murders committed by her and her husband. “Out, damned spot, out, I say!” she says,…
Excerpt - "A Short History of Shakespeare in Performance" by Richard Schoch
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Shakespeare & Beyond
How have directors sought to make Shakespeare productions relevant to contemporary political issues? What is it about these plays that makes them so politically resonant? Richard Schoch (Queen’s University Belfast) explores these questions in the excerpt below, taken from A…
This month, Shakespeare theaters across the country are bringing live theater back! Take a look at what the Folger’s theater partners have onstage this month, along with virtual talks, online streaming shows, and audio productions.
