{"id":48,"date":"2016-01-22T10:46:19","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T15:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/?page_id=48"},"modified":"2025-07-09T13:25:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T18:25:35","slug":"shakespeare-in-browns-libraries","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/resources\/shakespeare-in-browns-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakespeare in Brown\u2019s Libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<nav style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"has-text-color has-black-color has-medium-font-size is-responsive has-text-decoration-underline wp-block-navigation is-layout-flex wp-block-navigation-is-layout-flex\" aria-label=\"Menu\" \n\t\t data-wp-interactive=\"core\/navigation\" 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href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/programming\/opening-panel-reception-the-first-folio-1623-and-today\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Opening Panel and Reception: The First Folio: 1623 and today<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/programming\/symposium-americas-shakespeare\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Symposium: America\u2019s Shakespeare<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/programming\/the-plays-the-thing\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">\u201cThe play\u2019s the thing\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/li><li data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;submenuOpenedBy&quot;: { &quot;click&quot;: false, &quot;hover&quot;: false, &quot;focus&quot;: false }, &quot;type&quot;: &quot;submenu&quot;, &quot;modal&quot;: null, &quot;previousFocus&quot;: null }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/navigation\" data-wp-on--focusout=\"actions.handleMenuFocusout\" data-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\" data-wp-on--mouseenter=\"actions.openMenuOnHover\" data-wp-on--mouseleave=\"actions.closeMenuOnHover\" data-wp-watch=\"callbacks.initMenu\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"wp-block-navigation-item has-medium-font-size has-child open-on-hover-click  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-submenu\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\" href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/programming\/shakespeare-para-todos\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">\u00a1Shakespeare para todos!<\/span><\/a><button data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isMenuOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggleMenuOnClick\" aria-label=\"\u00a1Shakespeare para todos! submenu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__submenu-icon wp-block-navigation-submenu__toggle\" ><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1.50002 4L6.00002 8L10.5 4\" stroke-width=\"1.5\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><ul data-wp-on--focus=\"actions.openMenuOnFocus\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__submenu-container  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-submenu\"><li class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/programming\/shakespeare-para-todos\/spanish-translation-of-the-page\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Spanish translation of the page<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/programming\/teaching-shakespeare-workshop\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Teaching Shakespeare Workshop<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/programming\/other-events\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Other Events<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;submenuOpenedBy&quot;: { &quot;click&quot;: false, &quot;hover&quot;: false, &quot;focus&quot;: false }, &quot;type&quot;: &quot;submenu&quot;, &quot;modal&quot;: null, &quot;previousFocus&quot;: null }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/navigation\" data-wp-on--focusout=\"actions.handleMenuFocusout\" data-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\" data-wp-on--mouseenter=\"actions.openMenuOnHover\" data-wp-on--mouseleave=\"actions.closeMenuOnHover\" data-wp-watch=\"callbacks.initMenu\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"wp-block-navigation-item has-medium-font-size has-child open-on-hover-click  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-submenu\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\" href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/resources\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Resources<\/span><\/a><button data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isMenuOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggleMenuOnClick\" aria-label=\"Resources submenu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__submenu-icon wp-block-navigation-submenu__toggle\" ><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1.50002 4L6.00002 8L10.5 4\" stroke-width=\"1.5\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><ul data-wp-on--focus=\"actions.openMenuOnFocus\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__submenu-container  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-submenu\"><li class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/resources\/browns-first-folios\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Brown\u2019s First Folios<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/resources\/shakespeare-in-browns-libraries\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Shakespeare in Brown\u2019s Libraries<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/nav>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shakespeare in Brown\u2019s Libraries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shakespeare for All Readers<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"612\" height=\"612\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2016\/01\/inBrown.png\" alt=\"illustration from William Shakespeare play\" class=\"wp-image-378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2016\/01\/inBrown.png 612w, https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2016\/01\/inBrown-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2016\/01\/inBrown-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2016\/01\/inBrown-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2016\/01\/inBrown-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2016\/01\/inBrown-450x450.png 450w, https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2016\/01\/inBrown-600x600.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>William Shakespeare is probably the most written-about, edited, and reprinted writer in English. Editions of his collected plays date from the First Folio itself in 1623; single volumes of his plays, called quartos, were published from the beginning of his career, in the 1590\u2019s. At first, his poems and sonnets were printed separately from his plays. His works continue to be edited for different kinds of readers, from grade school children to college students to scholars to general readers to actors. &nbsp;From the 18th century onward, his plays have lent themselves to parodies, burlesques, and creative rewriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with the works themselves, commentaries and interpretations, biographies, and journals devoted to scholarly criticism of his writings have proliferated. Translations in hundreds of languages exist. In non-verbal media, his works have inspired songs, operas and other musical forms, as well as paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture. Beginning with silent films in the 19th century, every one of his plays exists in a film version, and they are often performed on television. We can also view live theatrical performances\u2014from the National Theatre in London, for example\u2014in cinemas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the advent of digital technology, we are no longer dependent on rare book libraries or special collections for acquaintance with the earliest editions, the quartos, the First Folio, the three subsequent Folios, and the major editions of the collected or complete works that began with Nicholas Rowe\u2019s in 1709, and went through the 18th century. We can access these editions online, and compare their different versions of what Shakespeare wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Much Ado About Nothing<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyone who wants to explore this vast field of Shakespeareana will find all of these forms richly represented in Brown\u2019s libraries. Under&nbsp;<em>Hamlet,<\/em>&nbsp;for example, 229 items are listed in the online catalog, including the Russian translation by Boris Pasternak, the opera by Ambroise Thomas, and the 2001 film starring Ethan Hawke, Liev Schreiber, and Sam Shephard. To describe Brown\u2019s Shakespeare resources even in general terms would take many words. &nbsp;Therefore, we have chosen a play from the middle of the poet\u2019s career,&nbsp;<em>Much Ado About Nothing<\/em>, published in 1600, to exemplify the resources available in our libraries to a reader who wishes to immerse herself in the play\u2019s many incarnations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Much Ado<\/em> in Print<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Josiah, the online catalog for all Brown libraries, has fifty entries for the play as a single text. Readers can see both its First Folio and quarto editions through the electronic resource LION, Literature Online. They can also read it on paper in the major scholarly editions\u2013Arden, Cambridge, Oxford\u2014which include up to date scholarly commentaries and information of many kinds. If they want a quicker introduction to Much Ado, they can check out one of the well-prepared paperback editions for the general reader, such as the Penguin, or the Norton. Spanish speakers might be interested in Mucho Ruido y Pocas Nueces, a bilingual edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Much Ado <\/em>on Video<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Readers who want to see the play performed will find several video versions. In 1972, the Public Theater\u2019s production of&nbsp;<em>Much Ado<\/em>, under the direction of Joseph Papp, became a Broadway hit starring Sam Waterston and Kathleen Widdoes. &nbsp;The BBC, in collaboration with Time-Life, Inc., produced videos of all Shakespeare\u2019s plays during the 1980\u2019s:&nbsp;<em>Much Ado<\/em>&nbsp;came out in 1988. Kenneth Branagh\u2019s film version of 1993, filmed in Tuscany and starring several American screen stars (Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves), was a popular and critical success. The most recent version (2013), directed by Joss Whedon of \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d fame, is filmed in black and white, and set in contemporary Santa Monica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recordings of <em>Much Ado<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At Orwig Music Library, listeners will find three recorded versions of the play, one of them starring Rex Harrison of&nbsp;<em>My Fair Lady<\/em>&nbsp;fame. &nbsp;With earphones, they can listen and follow a printed text at the same time. The musically inclined can also listen to Erich Korngold\u2019s orchestral suite inspired by the play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Credits:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Much Ado About Nothing, IV, 2 [graphic], by Stephanoff, Francis Philip. Folger Shakespeare Library.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shakespeare in Brown\u2019s Libraries Shakespeare for All Readers William Shakespeare is probably the most written-about, edited, and reprinted writer in English. Editions of his collected plays date from the First Folio itself in 1623; single volumes of his plays, called quartos, were published from the beginning of his career, in the 1590\u2019s. At first, his <a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/resources\/shakespeare-in-browns-libraries\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Shakespeare in Brown\u2019s Libraries<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":44,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-full-width-no-menu.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-48","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":510,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48\/revisions\/510"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/44"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/firstfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}