Folger Shakespeare Library

in 1623, Anne Hathaway, William Shakespeare's wife, died at the age of 67. Because little is known about her life, Anne has often served as a mirror reflecting contemporary society's feelings about women, marriage, and family. Here's a little of what we DO know about her and how to learn more!

The word happiness had multiple meanings at the time that Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence, and those different definitions also appear in the works of Shakespeare, a writer whom Jefferson admired. Gail Kern Paster explores as part of our America's Next 250 blog series. Full blog at link below.

Greg Doran, artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, stepped down from his role following the death from cancer of his husband, Antony Sher. He spent 2023—the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio—seeing how many copies he could find. In this excerpt from "Walking Shadow: Love, Loss and Shakespeare" (Bloomsbury Publishing UK) Doran describes his visit to to the town of Skipton (Skipton Town Hall) to learn the story of their copy of the First Folio and the famous author who may have been one of its readers. Full excerpt at the 🔗 below!

We're so excited for our August 21 Poetry Kickoff! 🥳 ✍️ Award-winning poet María Fernanda will lead an afternoon workshop and an evening reading. Originally from Northeast DC, she has read her work to international audiences in Nikiti, Moscow, and Hamburg. Register at the link in the comments ⬇️

August is full of great opportunities to engage with the Folger! Check out what's happening this month. More at the link in the comments 👇

Happy birthday to this eternal heroine! 🎂 "My child is yet a stranger in the world/ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years." - Capulet, "Romeo and Juliet," Act 1, Scene 2. Juliet is the only fictional Shakespearean character whose date of birth is mentioned in the play? It's July 31, the day before Lammas Day. Lady Capulet and the Nurse mention that Lammas Day is about a fortnight away from when the action takes place.

When scholar Caroline Bicks gained unprecedented access to Stephen King's personal archives, she discovered that the Bard of Avon and the King of Horror have more in common than you might think. She talks about her discoveries and her book, "Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King" on the podcast. Listen at the link below ⬇️

Earlier this week we announced that tickets were on sale for all three shows in the 2026-27 Folger Theatre season, “Measure for Measure," "Hamlet," and "The Comedy of Errors." Now we’re thrilled to share the show art with you! 🥳 🖼️ The Folger shared images from our collection with artist Mike McQuade to create these unique pieces that reference the history of Shakespeare art and performance. We can’t wait to share this new, all-Shakespeare season with our audience.

There's still room in our Family Poetry Slam workshop this weekend! Join us at 11:30am (recommended for ages 5-7) or 1pm (recommended for ages 8-11) to embrace the roles of playwright, poet, and actor. Register now at the