Skip to main content
Shakespeare & Beyond

Shakespeare & Beyond

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.

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters this summer
Shakespeare and Beyond

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters this summer

Posted
Author
Ben Lauer

Plan a visit to a theater near you with our guide to summer Shakespeare across the United States.

Quiz: Deaths in Shakespeare plays
Shakespeare and Beyond

Quiz: Deaths in Shakespeare plays

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Lots of characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, sometimes in quite violent and graphic ways. Test your knowledge by taking our quiz.

Excerpt: "Shakespeare without a Life" by Margreta de Grazia
Shakespeare without a Life
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt: "Shakespeare without a Life" by Margreta de Grazia

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Did Shakespeare give much thought to how his works would survive after his death? Margreta de Grazia argues that his sonnets show he did.

“By false intelligence": AI, ChatGPT, and (the) Bard
Shakespeare and Beyond

“By false intelligence": AI, ChatGPT, and (the) Bard

Posted
Author
Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor finds that AI does not quite measure up to William Shakespeare when he asks ChatGPT and Bard to write a new play called “Cardenio.”

Excerpt: "Richard III's Bodies from Medieval England to Modernity"
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt: "Richard III's Bodies from Medieval England to Modernity"

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

The disabled body of Richard III, a historical English king and one of Shakespeare’s most iconic villains, is the focus of a recent book by Jeffrey R. Wilson.

Birds of Shakespeare: The magpie
a magpie in flight below a magpie perched on a branch surrounded by foliage
Shakespeare and Beyond

Birds of Shakespeare: The magpie

Posted
Author
Missy Dunaway

Artist Missy Dunaway explores the thieving magpie’s ominous appearances in Shakespeare’s plays.

"Something is desperate": Theatrical mishaps and embarrassing moments with Shakespeare
Shakespeare and Beyond

"Something is desperate": Theatrical mishaps and embarrassing moments with Shakespeare

Posted
Author
Ben Lauer

We gathered tales of onstage mistakes, errors, and whoopsies from Shakespeare theaters across the US.

Excerpt: "Shakespeare's Book" by Chris Laoutaris
Shakespeare's Book
Shakespeare and Beyond

Excerpt: "Shakespeare's Book" by Chris Laoutaris

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Chris Laoutaris explores the Shakespearean printing mystery behind the Pavier-Jaggard Quartos, published a few years before the First Folio.

Embroidering the crown: Needlework in the English royal court
an embroidered textile with figures representing the story of Hero and Leander
Shakespeare and Beyond

Embroidering the crown: Needlework in the English royal court

Posted
Author
Rachel Pollack

Rachel Pollack writes about early modern English embroideries and the stories they depict, such as the classical myth of Hero and Leander.

The coriander connection: Brain health in early modern English recipes and Ayurvedic practices today
a glass cup of tea with a basin of fennel seeds
Shakespeare and Beyond

The coriander connection: Brain health in early modern English recipes and Ayurvedic practices today

Posted
Author
Amita Jain

An Ayurvedic doctor explores resonances between traditional Indian medicine and an early modern English recipe in the Folger collection that prescribes coriander to “helpe the memorie.”

By the triple Hecate’s team: Engaging Shakespeare as actress, director, and novelist
young Black woman
Shakespeare and Beyond

By the triple Hecate’s team: Engaging Shakespeare as actress, director, and novelist

Posted
Author
Brittany N. Williams

A YA fantasy novelist shares how she channels her acting passions for Shakespeare and stage combat into her debut book, That Self-Same Metal.

“The book of his good acts”: Shakespeare’s First Folio onstage and on the page
Austin Tichenor as Richard Burbage
Shakespeare and Beyond

“The book of his good acts”: Shakespeare’s First Folio onstage and on the page

Posted
Author
Austin Tichenor
1 4 5 6 7 8 70